TodayPrice

Author: Chisom OZ

  • Why we are rejecting proposed tariff hike – NLC president Ajaero

    Why we are rejecting proposed tariff hike – NLC president Ajaero

    The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, under the leadership of Comrade Joe Ajaero, has once again expressed strong opposition to the proposed 50 percent hike in telecom tariffs by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, in collaboration with telecom operators.

    Ajaero, speaking on Channels TV on Thursday, described the move as an undue burden on Nigerians already grappling with rising inflation, high transportation costs, increased electricity tariffs, and the general economic downturn.

    He questioned the rationale behind the proposed hike, particularly given the significant growth of the telecom sector over the years.

    Ajaero said: “When GSM operators began operations in Nigeria, the subscriber base was below 50,000. Today, the market has expanded to over 200 million active lines. Despite this, the sector is claiming it cannot sustain operations without a 50% increase in tariffs. This reasoning does not align with the reality of their profitability.”

    The NLC President further emphasized that, “the proposed tariff hike would worsen inflation, aggravating the economic hardship faced by millions of Nigerians.

    “Increasing tariffs in the telecom sector, like in the power sector, creates a vicious cycle of inflation. Nigerians, who are already bearing the brunt of economic pressures, cannot afford to shoulder another burden,” he stated.

    Ajaero noted: “The principle of stakeholder consultation is central to tariff modeling. Unfortunately, this has been ignored. Decisions of this magnitude cannot be made without input from key stakeholders, including labor unions, civil society organizations, and consumers.”

    While rejecting the proposed hike outright, he called for immediate stakeholder engagement to explore sustainable alternatives that do not jeopardize the livelihood of Nigerians.

    “Our position is clear, any increase must be equitable and based on genuine consultation. We cannot accept arbitrary figures imposed without due consideration of their impact on the populace.

    “We will consult with labour unions, civil society organizations, and Nigerians at large to determine the best course of action. A boycott is one of the many tools at our disposal, but the final decision will be inclusive and reflective of the collective will of Nigerians,” Ajaero added.

  • CNN to layoff 200 staff amid attempts to modernise business

    CNN to layoff 200 staff amid attempts to modernise business

    US news network CNN will shed six percent of staff, some 200 people, the outlet said Thursday as it embarks on a major shakeup of staffing and programing amid a deluge of political news.

    The broadcaster, which said overall employee headcount could remain stable with new roles created, follows other outlets restructuring amid the return of Donald Trump to the White House on Monday.

    “Some of today’s announcements mean significant new job opportunities at CNN, but others will lead to the loss of some valued colleagues,” CNN chief executive Mark Thompson told staff in a memo.

    “Yes, there are job-losses — around 6 percent of the current CNN workforce will be impacted — but we don’t expect total headcount to fall much this year, if at all,” he added.

    “That’s because of the $70 million we’re investing in our digital plans and the many new jobs it will pay for.”

    It is unclear if the restructuring will follow the pattern of some other legacy media outlets where seasoned reporters and editors on higher salaries are cleared out to make way for younger, cheaper staff for digital projects.

    In November the storied Associated Press news agency said it would slash almost eight percent of jobs as the US-based wire battles client cancellations and economic headwinds.

    Last July CNN announced the elimination of around 100 posts, at the same time as the creation of a paid digital offering on its website to complement existing output.

    Thompson also announced on Thursday the future launch of a new paid streaming product, without giving details.

    CNN previously launched a streaming service in 2022, CNN+, but it was shut down with little fanfare after a month amid a complex multi-billion-dollar merger between legacy media titans WarnerMedia and Discovery.

    The channel, emblematic of declining cable TV viewership, has also suffered from stiff competition.

    Long overtaken by conservative favorite Fox News, which aired an exclusive interview with Trump on Wednesday, CNN has also been overtaken by MSNBC, which has positioned itself as a vanguard of opposition and criticism to Trump and his Republicans.

  • Tinubu ratifies Obasa’s removal, receives new Speaker

    Tinubu ratifies Obasa’s removal, receives new Speaker

    President Bola Tinubu has ratified the removal of the embattled former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

    According to a source, the President met with the new leadership of the House, led by the new Speaker, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, on Wednesday, 22 January, 2025, at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

    Also at the meeting were prominent members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC): its Chairman, Prince Tajudeen Oluyole Olusi; Secretary, Mutiu Are; Chairman of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; Lagos West Senatorial District Apex Leader, Prince Rabiu Adio Oluwa; Leaders from Lagos East Senatorial District: Busura Alebiosu and Bamu; and former state Chairman of APC, Chief Henry Oladele Ajomale, among others.

    Meanwhile, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; and the removed Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, were absent at the meeting.

    It was learnt that, at the meeting, despite the President’s initial reservation about the way Obasa was removed, he was reportedly convinced beyond reasonable doubt following evidence presentation of alleged excesses and financial misappropriation.

    The new speaker, it was learnt, also used the occasion to assure Mr President of her readiness to work seamlessly with other arms of government to ensure that the residents enjoy full dividends of democracy in the state.

    Recall, the speaker on Monday visited Sanwo-Olu at Lagos House, Marina, where she pledged her unalloyed support and cordial relationship with the executive arm under her tenure.

  • Electricity: Migrating people to different bands ‘highest level of 419’ – Ajaero

    Electricity: Migrating people to different bands ‘highest level of 419’ – Ajaero

    The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has criticised the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, over the implementation of electricity bands and plans for migrating customers between them.

    Ajaero described the service-based tariff system, which categorises electricity users into bands based on the level of service provided by distribution companies, as discriminatory and fraudulent.

    Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ajaero said, “Now the ministry is talking about migrating from Band B to Band A, that is the highest level of 419 one can think of.”

    He referenced the term “419,” widely associated with fraudulent practices in Nigeria.

    The NLC leader questioned the criteria for placing customers in different bands, asking, “Who is in Band A and who is in Band B? Is it based on geographical area that you have Band A or Band B or is it based on the dictates of the provider? In countries of the world that are targeting 24 hours power supply, why would somebody be talking about Band A or Band B? How would it happen?”

    Band A customers reportedly receive 20 hours of electricity daily, Band B 16 hours, Band C 12 hours, Band D 8 hours, and Band E just 4 hours.

    However, Ajaero challenged the fairness of this system, saying, “What are the conditions to be on Band A? What are the conditions to be on Band B? Why would you discriminate? Why would you give me Band B and give somebody Band A? So, these are the issues.”

    Minister Adelabu had earlier claimed during a budget defense session at the National Assembly that 90 percent of electricity users in Band A have confirmed receiving the benefits of longer supply and announced plans to migrate more customers to Band A for extended power hours.

  • Europa: Fernandes’ late strike hands Man United dramatic victory over Rangers

    Europa: Fernandes’ late strike hands Man United dramatic victory over Rangers

    Man United closed in on a direct passage to the Europa League last 16 thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ late winner to beat Rangers 2-1 in Thursday’s Battle of Britain.

    The Red Devils looked set to suffer more disappointment at Old Trafford when Cyriel Dessers levelled for an injury-ravaged Rangers in the 88th minute.

    But Fernandes spared United’s blushes and possibly the playoff round by blasting home in stoppage time.

    United move up to fourth in the table with one match of the league phase remaining.

    The top eight will qualify directly for the last 16, which may now be beyond Rangers, who slip to 13th.

    However, the Glasgow giants did themselves proud in the circumstances as Philippe Clement had to turn to two teenagers off the bench in the second half as his injury problems mounted.

    Ruben Amorim had blasted United’s current crop as the worst in the club’s history after a bruising 3-1 defeat to Brighton at the weekend.

    That was a fourth defeat in five home games and United’s nervousness in front of an expectant crowd was clear to see in the early stages.

    Rangers were left to rue not making more of the first big chance of the match when Altay Bayindir denied Nico Raskin and Ridvan Yilmaz chipped the rebound over.

    Alejandro Garnacho has been linked with a move away in the closing weeks of the transfer window as United look to ease their issues with meeting profit and sustainability rules.

    The Argentine is attracting interest from Napoli and Chelsea and should have signed off with at least one goal if it is to be his final appearance for the club.

    Garnacho’s goalbound effort was deflected over by Raskin before United had the ball in the net from the resulting corner.

    Matthijs de Ligt’s towering header was controversially ruled out for a foul on Robin Propper and VAR did not intervene.

    Amad Diallo has been the shining light in troubled times in Amorim’s early months and was keen to make an impression against his former club, where he spent an unfruitful loan spell during the 2021/22 season.

    Diallo was largely kept quiet, although Jack Butland had to block a low shot after a neat one-two with Bruno Fernandes.

    Already shorn of John Souttar, Neraysho Kasanwirjo, Ianis Hagi, Danilo and Oscar Cortes, Rangers had to cope with three more injuries as Leon Balogun and Connor Barron did not appear for the second half and Vaclav Cerny limped off on the hour mark.

    Clement had to throw on two 18-year-olds with barely any first team experience in Bailey Rice and Findlay Curtis.

    Yet, they were ultimately only beaten by a huge error from one of their most experienced players.

    Butland did not play for United during a spell with the Red Devils in 2023.

    The former England international endured a nightmare return as he punched Diallo’s corner into his own net to break the deadlock.

    United failed to press home the advantage as Garnacho fired a glorious chance off the post from close range.

    And they could have been punished as Dessers smashed home after Harry Maguire got caught underneath a long ball.

    Not for the first time this season, Fernandes rode to United’s rescue with the one moment of quality in a scrappy game when he cushioned Lisandro Martinez’s cross through Butland’s legs.

    Rangers are still set to at least make the playoff round and have an outside chance at making the top eight if they beat Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox next week.

    United travel to Romanian side FCSB with a point likely enough to secure place in the last 16.

  • Trump orders release of last JFK, RFK, King assassination files

    Trump orders release of last JFK, RFK, King assassination files

    US President Donald Trump ordered the declassification Thursday of the last secret files on the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, a case that still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.

    Trump signed an executive order that will also release documents on the 1960s assassinations of JFK’s younger brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

    “That’s big one, huh? A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades,” Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office of the White House.

    “Everything will be revealed.”

    After signing the order, Trump passed the pen he used to an aide, saying “Give that to RFK Jr.,” JFK’s nephew and the current president’s nominee to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    The order Trump signed requires the “full and complete release” of the JFK files, without redactions that he accepted back in 2017 when releasing most of the documents.

    “It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay,” the order said.

    Trump had previously promised to release the last of the files, most recently at his inauguration on Monday.

    – ‘Overwhelming evidence’ –

    The US National Archives has released tens of thousands of records in recent years related to the November 22, 1963 assassination of president Kennedy but held thousands back, citing national security concerns.

    It said at the time of the latest large-scale release, in December 2022, that 97 percent of the Kennedy records — which total five million pages — had now been made public.

    The Warren Commission that investigated the shooting of the charismatic 46-year-old president determined that it was carried out by a former Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.

    But that formal conclusion has done little to quell speculation that a more sinister plot was behind Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas, and the slow release of the government files has added fuel to various conspiracy theories.

    Trump’s move is partly a gesture to one of the most prominent backers of those conspiracies — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. himself.

    RFK Jr. said in 2023 there was “overwhelming evidence the CIA was involved” in his uncle JFK’s murder and “very convincing” evidence the agency was also behind the 1968 assassination of his own father, Robert F. Kennedy.

    The former attorney general was killed while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president. Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born Jordanian, was convicted of his murder.

    Anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. was rewarded with the health nod in Trump’s cabinet for dropping his independent presidential bid and backing the Republican, but he faces a rocky nomination process.

    – Conspiracy theories –

    Thousands of Kennedy assassination-related documents from the National Archives were released during Trump’s first term in office, but he also held some back on national security grounds.

    Then-president Joe Biden said at the time of the December 2022 documents release that a “limited” number of files would continue to be held back at the request of unspecified “agencies.”

    Previous requests to withhold documents have come from the CIA and FBI.

    Kennedy scholars have said the documents still held by the archives are unlikely to contain any bombshell revelations or put to rest the rampant conspiracy theories about the assassination of the 35th US president.

    Oswald, who had at one point defected to the Soviet Union, was shot to death two days after killing Kennedy by a nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, as he was being transferred from the city jail.

    Hundreds of books and movies such as the 1991 Oliver Stone film “JFK” have fueled the conspiracy industry, pointing the finger at Cold War rivals Russia or Cuba, the Mafia and even Kennedy’s vice president, Lyndon Johnson.

    Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

    James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and died in prison in 1998 but King’s children have expressed doubts in the past that Ray was the assassins.

  • Tightening the noose on the necks of terrorists

    Tightening the noose on the necks of terrorists

    Recent news updates from Defence Headquarters show that the end of days of terror of North-West bandits might be in sight. The vow of the Nigerian Armed Forces to capture Bello Turji, the daredevil bandit warlord in the North West axis, could be realised sooner than later, judging by the military’s bulletins about its exploits.

    Many “commanders” of the bandit outfit, particularly Turji’s deputy, Aminu Kanawa, and scores of his fighters, have been killed. The bandits are in disarray, and they have been forced to abandon their abducted captives in the face of onslaughts by troops of the Nigerian Army’s “Operation Hadarin Daji” and “Operation Forest Sanity” in the North West.

    Though the capture or elimination of Turji will only be a step further towards ending insecurity in the North West, Nigerians are happy with the Military. Hopes are rising, once again, that insecurity due to terrorism, which has wracked the nation since 2009, could be coming to an end.

    We also commend the Armed Forces and urge them not to relent until terrorists, bandits, armed herdsmen, kidnappers and other forms of heinous criminals are eliminated from our forests and farmlands, and ungoverned spaces recovered from them. Nigeria can never make any progress towards addressing food insecurity and safety in our local communities, highways and schools until law and order are restored, and lawbreakers brought to justice.

    We need to remind the Armed Forces to the fact that this is not the first time we are pushing our armed enemies to wall. The stubborn case of Boko Haram’s Abubakar Shekau is still fresh in the mind. The Armed Forces announced his “killing” several times until we finally heard from him no more. Indeed, Shekau did not go down until he was able to export Boko Haram terror to Niger State and creating an enabling environment for the Turji terrorist gang. We did not do enough to prevent the virus from sprouting in another part of the country.

    It seems we did not learn our lesson from that ugly experience, because reports from the South West indicate that the bandit terrorists are relocating there and other parts of the South. Gani Adams, the Aare Ona-Kakanfo of Yorubaland, has been complaining bitterly that the South West governors are aloof to the alarms that his Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) and hunters’ groups have been raising.

    The Military alone cannot solve our insecurity. It is the job of governments at all levels, the security agencies, police and community vigilante outfits to occupy every ungoverned spaced freed by the Military. Otherwise, the terrorists will simply move into them and start all over again.

    This vicious circle must be broken. It is our collective responsibility.

  • What next for Ogoniland? By Donu Kogbara

    What next for Ogoniland? By Donu Kogbara

    Last week, I was invited to the presidential villa to meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA).

    The reason given was that I am an “important Ogoni Stakeholder” and I was really surprised to have received such a flattering summons because I have been a vocal opponent of Tinubu since 2022.

    OK so I made my way to this meeting on Tuesday alongside other senior Ogoni stakeholders.

    We were told that the government wanted to find out what it could do to persuade us and our brethren back home to support its interest in resuming oil operations on our ancestral turf.

    Ogoniland quit producing oil in the early 1990s at the height of the Ken Saro Wiwa crisis – a very complicated situation that cannot be adequately summarised in a few newspaper paragraphs. But let me provide a potted history anyway for newcomers to this tragic story.

    Saro Wiwa was the face of a robust campaign that focussed on Shell Petroleum’s environmental abuses. The Ogoni leadership was deeply divided. Some moderate Ogoni leaders (my late father Ignatius, for example) favoured negotiation with the authorities. Saro Wiwa and the youths he controlled favoured a more radical approach.

    Eventually, 4 blameless Ogoni chiefs – my uncles Edward Kobani, Albert Badey, Theophilus Orage and Samuel Orage – were murdered.

    Some Ogonis blamed the Nigerian army for this fratricidal outrage. Others blamed Ken and his fans. The then head of state, General Sani Abacha, also regarded them as guilty; and they were executed.

    Shell Petroleum, which was accused of colluding with the Federal Government, was forced to retreat. Numerous attempts to resolve the impasse have failed. The rift with Shell was never healed. Other companies that have expressed an interest in taking over from Shell have been rejected. And Ogoniland has yet to recover – politically, socially, financially, psychologically – from the trauma, bloodletting, bitterness and absence of significant economic activity.

    Most members of the delegation that went to meet President Tinubu on Tuesday bear emotional scars linked to this sorry state of affairs.

    I frequently find myself furiously dwelling on the fact that the bodies of my assassinated uncles have never materialised. If I feel like this, imagine how the children of the disappeared victims feel! Anyway, I applaud Mr President for including both pro- and anti-Ken individuals on his guest list and for appealing to all of us to put the past behind us and embrace the spirit of reconciliation.

    He urged Ogonis to set aside historical grievances and work together to achieve peace, development, and a clean environment.

    “We cannot in any way rewrite history, but we can correct some anomalies of the past going forward. We cannot heal the wounds if we continue to be angry,” the president said.

    I and most of the Ogonis I know feel neglected, marginalised and cheated. There has never been an Ogoni Governor, Deputy Governor, Chief Judge or Speaker of the State House of Assembly.

    The President promised to prioritise peace, justice and the sustainable development of Ogoniland, then directed the NSA to coordinate inclusive negotiations with Ogoni leaders. The Rivers State Governor, Sir Sim Fubara, was also at this meeting and made all the right noises and sounded sincerely committed to working with us to enable Ogoniland to enjoy a brighter future.

    A separate meeting at the NSA’s office was immensely cordial, though too short (because it was quite late in the day) to accommodate those who had hoped for in-depth discussions about the best way forward.

    The Chief Executive of NNPCL,  Mele Kyari, and Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, the DG of the DSS (who is married to a Rivers woman!) joined us and assured us of maximum cooperation.

    I personally think, on reflection, that the best way forward is for Ogonis to create a detailed and sophisticated masterplan for our region, in conjunction with expert development consultants.

    All that remains now is to keep one’s fingers tightly crossed that regular consultations at community level will ensue and that Mr President, the NSA, the NNPCL CEO, the DG DSS and our Governor will keep their promises and not try to be too clever by half!

    I am trying my best to give all of the above the benefit of many doubts (my own doubts as well as doubts expressed by other Ogonis who don’t trust this government or ANY Nigerian government).

    I will maintain an open mind. But I will be the first to complain very loudly if this project is not handled ethically and efficiently.

  • The politics of pardons, the pardons of politics, by Owei Lakemfa

    The politics of pardons, the pardons of politics, by Owei Lakemfa

    President Joe Biden within seven weeks from December 1, 2024, granted over 2,500 pardons including for his son,  Robert Hunter Biden.

    Hunter had been convicted  on a nine-count charge   for  tax felony amounting to $1.4 million,  evading tax assessment  and filing false tax returns. He faced a maximum 17 years in prison.  His sentencing was scheduled for December 16, 2024. But fifteen days before, Biden  not only pardoned his son, but also granted him  immunity  from additional or new charges that can be brought against him especially by the Trump administration. It stated that Hunter  has immunity:  “For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024”

    His predecessor and successor, President Donald Trump in one day, on January 20, 2025, issued over 1,500 pardons. Both men within seven weeks granted over 4,000 pardons. The process the two  political rivals are basically abusing,  is the power of pardon granted the United States, US President   under Article II Section 2, Clause 1   of the American constitution. This  provides that: “The President…shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except  in Cases of impeachment.”

    However, there remains a problem Trump  still needs to solve over the Capitol Hill violent invaders against whom he claims “ a grave national injustice” had been perpetrated. The US Constitution grants the   President power to pardon people convicted, but not power  to halt on-going trials. Now, some of the judges have merely dismissed the cases. This leaves open the possibility that charges can brought  against the accused in future. There are still some 300 such cases pending which judges might be holding up or delaying.  Perhaps Trump can learn from Biden granting  his son immunity from any prosecution.

    Biden with his total 8,064 pardons granted from 2021 -2025 holds  the record of granting the most pardons in US history. While the pardons granted this week by Trump, were basically to free convicted criminals  who levied war against the state in an attempt to reverse the 2020  Presidential Elections which he had lost, some of the pardons by Biden were  to correct cases  of historical injustice the White establishment had visited on American Indians  and African Americans in its  bid to maintain supremacy and dominance over the country.

    I first heard the name, Leonard Peltier on August 12, 2024 at the  International Conference to End Colonialism In The World which was held in Abuja.  The Opening Address was  from  Puerto Rican freedom fighter, Oscar Lopez Riveria who had spent 38 years in US jails. I had remarked that Africa’s Nelson Mandela had spent 27 years in jail   and that as far as I knew, Riveria had been  the  longest serving political prisoner in history. But Kazi Toure, of the International  People’s Senate National Jericho Movement, USA and, former US political prisoner, corrected me.  He told me about the then 79-year old Indigenous American Indian freedom fighter called Leonard Peltier who was in his 49th year in US jails.

    Peltier was serving two life sentences for allegedly killing two Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams on June 26, 1975  in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  The immediate dispute was over the Indians insistence on self-determination and,  Native Treaty Rights.  The agents had gone to serve arrest warrants. The American state and system including  the FBI knew Peltier was innocent of the crimes. The FBI had forensic evidence proving that the shots that took the lives of the officers did not come from Peltier’s gun, but chose to suppress  the fact at the trial. It also manufactured fake affidavits and distorted facts.

    Peltier  had been  denied parole including at a  July, 2024 hearing  and, was not  eligible again for parole  until 2026. He was a leader of the American Indian Movement, AIM  which the state wanted to destroy. AIM had in 1973 taken over  the village of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation. This led to  a 71-day standoff with federal security forces. The increased clashes led to the face off two year later for which Peltier was sent to prison.

    The injustice done to Peltier had turned him into the symbol of the indigenous peoples’ resistance  and a living legend. It was for this and the insistence by the FBI for a pound of flesh from the American  Indian people, that saw him spend half a century wasting in prison.  Appeals by international  figures  including Nelson Mandela, Pope Francis, Bishop Desmond Tutu and the actor, Robert Redford did not move the American establishment.

    As the Biden era was winding up,  the local and international activists who for decades had pushed for presidential pardon, decided to make a last second push. On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Kazi posted an appeal by freedom activists titled “Tell Biden: FREE Leonard Peltier!” The appeal was that people should call President Biden that day and the next  on 2024561111 or text the White House on 302404 0880   with the simple message: “Grant Leonard Peltier Clemency” I thought the campaigners for a last second clemency were simply  optimists.

    I did not think a Biden would have the courage to grant Peltier pardon  especially when the FBI and the establishment were  openly opposed.  In fact,  FBI Director,  Christopher  Asher Wray wrote Biden this month saying that Peltier must  not be granted clemency. He repeated the false claim that: “Peltier is a ruthless murderer who has shown a complete lack of remorse for his many crimes.”

    But as Biden was handing over power to Trump on Monday, January 20, 2025, the White House issued a statement that Peltier was now a free man!  He is to be released from a Florida federal detention on February 18, 2025.  Biden’s release of Peltier, is a healing process for the indigenous American Indian people who have faced genocide.  Another healing process Biden set off  was his posthumous pardon for Pan African Prophet Marcus Garvey who was falsely accused in 1923 of mail fraud.

    Garvey who wanted to unite all Black people in the world, had set up empowerment businesses. When one of them, the large Black Star shipping line collapsed, the racist American establishment used that as an  excuse to charge him with “mail fraud” over the sale of the company’s shares. Using a corrupt judicial system, he was railroaded into prison. His connived conviction was then used in December 1, 1927 to deport him to his native Jamaica. Pardons in the US have essentially become weapons to be wielded for political purposes rather than to further the aims of justice.

  • Trump’s Message from God for Africa, by Azu Ishiekwene

    Trump’s Message from God for Africa, by Azu Ishiekwene

    It’s hard to argue when U.S. President Donald Trump says that God saved him to save America. Not only is a rational argument often suspended or lost when God enters the matter, but Trump’s return as the 47th president defies logic.

    A leader’s job is never done. But how do you rationally explain Kamala Harris’s defeat in the presidential election and, along with it, the routing of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in the Congress? If the election were a boxing match, it would have beaten the record of Vitali Klitschko vs Shannon Briggs’s 2010 fight as one of the most one-sided in boxing history.

    Biden’s sins

    And it’s not a laughing matter. Trump was a joke, but God, they say, uses jokers to teach serious people some lessons. I don’t mean his sordid personal record just yet. I mean where Biden had taken America compared to where Trump left it in 2021. Recovery from COVID-19 was largely exemplary, thanks to Biden letting data and science lead. The management of inflation on his watch (average 5.2 percent) has been the envy of most of the world, especially Europe.

    The negotiations with Big Pharma to review the prices of prescription drugs saved taxpayers billions, not to mention the benefits of peace of mind. He added 16.6 million jobs, achieved the lowest unemployment in five decades, and invested over $300 billion to rebuild roads and bridges. In contrast to climate change denier Trump, who pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, even though experts have described climate change as one of the world’s biggest threats in the next two to ten years, Biden returned America to the agreement and aggressively pursued investment in clean energy.

    Forget the record!

    But it turned out that whatever logic or facts might offer, God had other plans, according to Trump. It could only have been divine because how come voters didn’t remember Biden’s record or, if they did, we are now told the record didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was how they felt at election time – a concept obviously outside the realm of logic.

    Follow divination

    Trump’s sordid record didn’t matter in this solemn divination, this act of God. At the peak of his trials, Trump faced 91 criminal counts and multiple indictments. He was convicted on 34 counts for falsifying business records during his hush money trial and impeached twice. Just at the door to the White House, he was sentenced for a felony but received “unconditional discharge.” Voters knew his record up until November 5; nothing was secret.

    Yet, in a divination that spared him to redeem America—one of the few countries, apart from South Africa, Sweden and Finland, where a candidate can be elected even with a convict’s milestone around his neck—Trump won resoundingly.  It’s pointless trying to figure it out. Trump is here to finish what he couldn’t in his first coming. At the Inauguration on Monday, he announced a glorious new American dawn, the very purpose for which 1) the hand of fate made voters turn a blind eye to Trump’s chaotic record and 2) God saved him from being killed twice. Who can argue against that?

    While we’re getting used to the political science of feelings and divinations over facts and logic, it might be helpful to ask what this second missionary journey means for Africa. It does seem that God saved Trump not only to save America from itself but also to save America from Africa.

    Relief, at last

    His victory is a relief for several countries with strict LGBT laws. Nigeria has an anti-LGBT law that criminalises same-sex marriage and public display of affection by persons of the same sex, with a fine of up to 14 years imprisonment. It battled to hold its ground against US pressure for over a decade. When Biden was going out the door, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed a law banning homosexuality in the military – something that may have played out differently if Harris of the Democratic Party had won.  But Nigeria’s anti-LGBT laws are not even close to those of Uganda, which imposed the death penalty, a move that Biden described as “a tragic violation of universal human rights” and on whose watch Uganda was removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), among other reprisals.

    Tanzania and Ghana were not too far behind a backlash under Biden for their stringent anti-LGBT laws, a misery from which they have now been delivered. In his second missionary journey, Trump has condemned all forms of “social engineering” and declared from day one there are only two sexes in the US – male and female.

    This second coming is not only about the sexes or gender. Money—well, not precisely real money—is involved, too, for Africans. Crypto is getting popular on the continent. Data from Creditcoin’s blog suggests that African youths, particularly in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, are playing big. One source says that 35 percent of those aged between 18 and 60 in Nigeria owned or traded crypto assets in 2022.

    The year before was a nightmare for crypto traders in Nigeria after the Central Bank banned trading in crypto assets, and it has been a long winter since. Well, the new crypto godfather has just arrived on the scene. In what signalled a brave new dawn for the token and its youthful lovers on the continent, Trump and his wife, Melania, launched personalised cryptos and became crypto billionaires hours before the President’s inauguration.

    Flipside

    Yet, the flipside of this balance sheet is concerning for Africa. AGOA, which provides duty-free access to over 6,000 products from the continent, is due for renewal this year. Some African countries have benefited significantly from it. For example, Ghana’s exports to the U.S. grew from $206 million in 2000 to $2.76 billion in 2022. Kenya’s AGOA-related apparel exports grew from $55 million in 2001 to $603 million in 2022, while South Africa’s automotive exports also increased. Angola and Nigeria have also gained. These gains are at risk from Trump, who described “tariff” as the most beautiful word in the dictionary.

    Trump’s America First policy means the continent may have to look out for itself, which it does poorly even at the best times. This is hardly good news for sub-regional institutions like the ECOWAS, whose fragile multinational security arrangement was recently further weakened by the exit of four West African countries.

    Nor are swathes of African migrants still trying to find a footing in the U.S. going to see Trump’s second missionary journey with its promise of criminalising migration as funny. The President’s attack on the bishop of Washington who asked for mercy for migrants tells the whole story.

    Ask God

    It doesn’t matter. Trump is not pretending he is on this mission to save the world. He’s not in it to save the climate, make his neighbours happy, champion a global moral force for good, or prevent chaos in international trade. He is sure not on this journey for Africa that was not on the ballot when he was elected, warts and all.

    Conservatives, especially African evangelicals, who love him do so for the same reason Christians swear by Israel in the mistaken belief that it is a Christian country. It is not, in the same token, by which Trump’s piety is skin deep. But that is immaterial now. Anyone who doubts that Trump is on a divine mission can take up the matter with God.