Tristate healthcare systems, a private hospital in Lagos, has reportedly performed Nigeria’s first minimally invasive heart surgery.

A minimally invasive heart surgery involves making small cuts, called incisions, in the chest.

The surgeon does not cut the breastbone as is the case with the traditional open-heart surgery, but reaches the heart by going between the ribs.

This type of heart surgery often means less pain and a quicker recovery for most people.

Surgeons at the Tristate hospital were said to have performed a coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) – off-pump, and mitral valve replacement on four different patients, while their hearts were still beating.

One of the patients was an 81-year-old woman who needed a valve replacement.

Speaking with Channels Television, Kamal Adeleke, renowned cardiologist and professor of medicine, said Tristate Healthcare had done over 120 normal open heart surgeries nationwide.

He said before the recent feat, Nigerians could only get life-saving minimally invasive heart surgeries in the West, India and South Africa.

“Now, we’re using techniques that have never been done in Nigeria. The first one is the minimally invasive heart surgery,” he said.

“Apart from the fact that it is minimally invasive, we also did not stop the heart. The heart was beating while the blood vessels were bypassed.

“As a Nigerian that loves Nigeria, you can’t be happier that Nigeria can really do this.

“Nigeria can come out of a mess. When Nigeria puts its mind to something, it becomes doable.”

[TheCable]

ECOWAS and its western allies are insisting on restoring constitutional order in Niger. Good. We support democracy, complete with its law-and-order content. But there is a problem where cow thieves sit in judgement over fowl rustlers. President Bola Tinubu’s ‘pro-democratic’ ECOWAS procession contains persons who radiate negative democratic vibes. It includes one man called Alassane Ouattara, president of Ivory Coast since 2010. Ouattara was very loud and ‘patriotic’ at last week’s ECOWAS summit in Abuja. He declared the coup in Niger as terrorism, stricto sensu. But democratic Ouattara has a history of endorsing coups and high-fiving rebellious soldiers when the rape was for his political palate” …. .  “Why, for instance, do western powers have Paul Biya of Cameroon as a good friend and ally? The 90-year-old man has been in power for 41 years and is the world’s oldest head of state.”

The Jerusalem Post is arguably Israel’s most-read English news website and best-selling English newspaper. Last Wednesday, it published an interesting report of what it described as a “nature drama” involving a large black snake in the town of Shoham, halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The huge snake was “found motionless with an equally motionless porcupine stuck in its mouth.” Apparently, the reptile had killed itself trying to swallow the porcupine. A reptile ecologist who visited the site and reviewed the spectacle told the newspaper: “The snake tried to devour the porcupine and as soon as it decided to abandon its unusual meal, it realized the magnitude of its mistake. The one-way direction of the porcupine’s quills did not allow the snake to spit out the porcupine and in the end both the porcupine and the snake met their deaths in the tragic encounter.”

I read that report more than three times and looked at the Niger Republic debacle and the Tchiani porcupine that is stuck in the throat of ECOWAS. I wondered how the drama may end. There is a lesson for all strongmen out there in the Jerusalem Post story. This is especially so when you realise that snakes feed on small mammals like porcupines, and porcupines also feed on reptiles, including snakes. The two predators in that story died in the jaws of their meals. In whatever way the Niger Republic trouble is resolved, there will be no winner.

Coup anywhere is detestable. But as Brutus says in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, “Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” When a great system suffers abuse at the hands of its operators, it invites the attention of Cassius’s “lean and hungry look” and the “unkindest cut” of its guards. We saw it with Nigeria’s First Republic and the consequences of abuse of power. Without January 15, 1966, there probably would not have been July 29, 1966 and all the subsequent topsy-turvy that drifted the ship to this shore of sharks. At the core of Nigeria’s problem is the inoperable structure imposed on it by the coups of 1966. Without the coups, their causes, and the subsequent serial bad incidents of the 1960s, Nigeria’s journey may probably have been better today. That is why we won’t stop saying that democracy is the best form of government; we should protect it jealously from the ravages of ambition.

ECOWAS and its western allies are insisting on restoring constitutional order in Niger. Good. We support democracy, complete with its law-and-order content. But there is a problem where cow thieves sit in judgement over fowl rustlers. President Bola Tinubu’s ‘pro-democratic’ ECOWAS procession contains persons who radiate negative democratic vibes. It includes one man called Alassane Ouattara, president of Ivory Coast since 2010. Ouattara was very loud and ‘patriotic’ at last week’s ECOWAS summit in Abuja. He declared the coup in Niger as terrorism, stricto sensu. But democratic Ouattara has a history of endorsing coups and high-fiving rebellious soldiers when the rape was for his political palate. On 24 December, 1999, when the military ousted his arch rival, President Henri Bédié, Quattara hailed Bédié’s sack. He described what the soldiers did as “not a coup d’état (but) a revolution supported by all the Ivorian people.” The man apparently had forgotten uttering those words when he was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ECOWAS summit last Thursday in Abuja. Ouattara said he considered the Niger coup and the detention of Mohamed Bazoum by the junta “a terrorist act.” He said the coup must fail and the coupists must fall. He added: “We want democracy in our sub-region. We do not accept, we will not accept coups d’etat. These putschists must go. If they don’t let Bazoum out to be able to exercise his mandate, I think we should move ahead and get them out.” Quattara is ready to send 850 soldiers – children of his rural and urban poor – to fight his war in Niger. And who will deploy the poor soldiers? They will be sent to the war front by the president’s brother, Téné Birahima Ouattara; he is the Minister of Defence.

Another of ECOWAS’s democrats is Faure Eyadema, president of Togo. He has been president of his country since 2005 – with the help of the military. Count the years. Before him, there was his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who became president of Togo in 1967 following a military coup. But the Eyadema family coup story did not start in 1967; it started with the 12-13 January, 1963 coup that claimed Togo’s first democratically elected president, Sylvanus Olympio. He was killed outside the American embassy. How did it happen? Olympio’s presidential residence was guarded by two policemen when six murderous soldiers attacked it on the night of January 12, 1963. The president jumped the fence and escaped into the premises of the American embassy. The Africa Report of 4 November, 2021 has these paragraphs: “Two things are certain. First, that the attack on the Togolese president’s residence in Lomé began at 11pm; and second, that Olympio was assassinated the next morning, at 7:15am, in front of the gates of the US embassy, from which he had just been removed. Between these two events, eight long hours passed, in which phone calls were made and orders given…Who shot him? In the days that followed, Sergeant Eyadéma boasted to reporters from Le Figaro, Le Monde, Paris Match, and Time Magazine that he had shot the president with his own hands: ‘I shot him because he didn’t want to move.'” In 1992 (29 years later), reports said Eyadema tried to retract the statement but history has not stopped pointing at him as the regicide mastermind who, however, did not claim the throne until four years later.

Eyadema was in power for thirty eight years. He assumed power on 13 January, 1967; he was proclaimed president on 14 April, 1967; he was elected president on 30 December, 1979; he was re-elected president on 21 December, 1986; reelected again on 25 August, 1993; again on 21 June, 1998, and again on 1 June, 2003. He would have loved to celebrate the centenary of his coup in power but death yanked his lips off Togo’s gourd of palm wine on 5 February, 2005. Writing a postscript on him for the Le Monde Diplomatique, a researcher at the Centre d’études d’Afrique noire, Comi Toulabor, summed up Eyadema as one man who had been a personal friend of the then French president, Jacques Chirac, and “had remained in power for 38 years – thanks to a couple of coups, systematic electoral fraud, the faithful allegiance of an army packed with supporters and members of his Kabye ethnic group, solid foreign support (especially from France), and adroit management of access to Togo’s meagre economic resources.” How did Eyadema’s son become his successor? The military high command simply announced to the nation that they had suspended the constitution and appointed Faure Gnassingbe to fill the vacancy created by the death of his father. Significantly, when that happened, the African Union said no; ECOWAS roared as it is doing now. It held a summit, interestingly, in Niamey, Niger, and issued a statement that said: “The heads of state strongly condemn the military intervention which led to Faure Gnassingbe being installed as the successor to the deceased President…They agree that this constitutes a coup d’état and they condemn the subsequent manipulation of the constitution by parliament.” The younger Eyadema later ‘legitimised’ his inheritance with a controversial election three months later in April 2005. He was reelected in 2010; was reelected again in April 2015 and was reelected the fourth time in February 2020. He will be reelected and reelected till he dies on the throne like his father. That is the teacher from ECOWAS teaching democratic nonsense to Niger.

You cannot violate good faith with respect to the subject of democracy at home and be respected abroad as a campaigner for freedom of choice. ECOWAS’ pro-democracy campaigns won’t resonate with the people as long as its motives are suspect and persons without democratic credentials push its agenda. The company being kept in Africa by western powers continues to suggest that autocracy is not abhorred in all cases and not all coups are objectionable. Or why is the democratic world very comfortable with Quattara and Eyadema and other gods with feet of clay? Scholars Christian von Soest and Michael Wahman in 2015 published an article with a provocative title: ‘Not all dictators are equal: Coups, fraudulent elections, and the selective targeting of democratic sanctions.’ I think the piece, its arguments and conclusions fit the current Niger Republic narrative, the global reaction to the fall of Mohamed Bazoum and the rise of his nemesis, Abdoulrahmane Tchiani. Soest and Wahman’s observation is that “since the end of the Cold War, western powers have frequently used sanctions to fight declining levels of democracy and human rights violations abroad.” They observe further that it is interesting and puzzling that “some of the world’s most repressive autocracies have never been subjected to sanctions while other more competitive authoritarian regimes have been exposed to repeated sanction episodes.” They conclude that because of the political and economic costs of their decisions, western sanction senders pretend not to see “stable authoritarian regimes…(while) they sanction poor targets less integrated in the global economy and countries that do not align with (their) international political agenda.” Why, for instance, do western powers have Paul Biya of Cameroon as a good friend and ally? The 90-year-old man has been in power for 41 years and is the world’s oldest head of state.

Why is the Nigerian hawk comfortable with a very bad neighbour like Cameroun but is doing ‘pakurumo’ to Niger Republic’s chicken which has simply come home to roost? Cameroun is a real case of bad being very good to definers of political values. That is a country where democracy is on indefinite holidays, where human rights violations at the hands of government and its forces are routine; where the people’s right to freedom of choice is safe-kept in the strongroom of their life president, Paul Biya. In March 2020, a Cameroonian citizen confronted President Emmanuel Macron of France publicly in Paris on the human rights situation in Cameroon. Macron responded that he would “exert maximum pressure on President Paul Biya to put an end to this situation.” Emmanuel Macron waited two years before visiting Cameroon and when he did, what did he do? According to Human Rights Watch, on July 25 and 26, 2022, Macron was in Cameroon and met with President Biya but “the visit focused on strengthening political and economic ties between Paris and Yaoundé. Macron did not publicly express concerns on the human rights situation in the country.” Why are France and its allies comfortable with sit-tight, senescent Biya? Why have they refused to see the repression in Cameroon as a blight on the conscience of the democratic world but would not mind starting a world war because of a coup in Niger? And, they are determined to do so using the paws of our cat to pick their very hot chestnuts. Already, the sanctions Nigeria thought it fired to punish Niger’s renegade soldiers are ricocheting, hurting Nigerians. Must our fly follow the corpse of Niger Republic and its jilted patrons into the grave?

The Akan of Ghana have a proverb: “One should never rub bottoms with a porcupine.” What would happen if one did? I think we should ask ECOWAS with the hurting quills stuck in its butt. We should be clear about what we want in Africa. Do we want democracy because it best serves our people or do we want it because it is what our western husbands say we should have? Why is negotiated transition back to democracy the choice for other troubled places and war the preferred choice for Niger? Why is Russia, with all its atrocities in Ukraine, the new allure of French West Africans? Why are some bad good and some bad very bad?

Many people had hit against the current Coup d'État that happened in NIGER by the military.

After numerous days of following this occurrences in the NIGER, BURKINA FASO, GUINEA and MALI, I realised that people don't really understand the french system of governance and are wishing same to be done in their various countries.

But the truth is that the current Coup d'État in West Africa are not purposely due to economic hardship and why Am I saying that?

Why are coup d'États happening in only the Francophone countries for the past 20 years?

I am not a prophet of doom but, According to my research, I can unequivocally predict that there are more military COUP D'ÉTATs to happen in these francophone countries

Did you know many African countries(Francophone) continue to pay colonial tax to France since their independence till today!

14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax For the Benefits of Slavery and colonization

Did you know many African countries continue to pay colonial tax to France since their independence till today!

When Sékou Touré of Guinea decided in 1958 to get out of french colonial empire, and opted for the country independence, the french colonial elite in Paris got so furious, and in a historic act of fury the french administration in Guinea destroyed everything in the country which represented what they called the benefits from french colonization.

Three thousand French left the country, taking all their property and destroying anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.

The purpose of this outrageous act was to send a clear message to all other colonies that the consequences for rejecting France would be very high.

Slowly fear spread trough the african elite, and none after the Guinea events ever found the courage to follow the example of Sékou Touré, whose slogan was “We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.”

Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo, a tiny country in west Africa, found a middle ground solution with the French.

He didn’t want his country to continue to be a french dominion, therefore he refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaule proposed, but agree to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from french colonization.

It was the only conditions for the French not to destroy the country before leaving. However, the amount estimated by France was so big that the reimbursement of the so called “colonial debt” was close to 40% of the country budget in 1963.

The financial situation of the newly independent Togo was very unstable, so in order to get out the situation, Olympio decided to get out the french colonial money FCFA (the franc for french african colonies), and issue the country own currency.

On January 13, 1963, three days after he started printing his country own currency, a squad of illiterate soldiers backed by France killed the first elected president of newly independent Africa.
Olympio was killed by an ex French Foreign Legionnaire army sergeant called Etienne Gnassingbe who supposedly received a bounty of $612 from the local French embassy for the hit man job.

Olympio’s dream was to build an independent and self-sufficient and self-reliant country. But the French didn’t like the idea.

On June 30, 1962, Modiba Keita , the first president of the Republic of Mali, decided to withdraw from the french colonial currency FCFA which was imposed on 12 newly independent African countries. For the Malian president, who was leaning more to a socialist economy, it was clear that colonisation continuation pact with France was a trap, a burden for the country development.

On November 19, 1968, like, Olympio, Keita will be the victim of a coup carried out by another ex French Foreign legionnaire, the Lieutenant Moussa Traoré.

In fact during that turbulent period of African fighting to liberate themselves from European colonization, France would repeatedly use many ex Foreign legionnaires to carry out coups against elected presidents:

On January 1st, 1966, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, an ex french foreign legionnaire, carried a coup against David Dacko, the first President of the Central African Republic.

On January 3, 1966, Maurice Yaméogo, the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, was victim of a coup carried by Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, an ex French legionnaire who fought with french troops in Indonesia and Algeria against these countries independence.

on 26 October 1972, Mathieu Kérékou who was a security guard to President Hubert Maga, the first President of the Republic of Benin, carried a coup against the president, after he attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970.

In fact, during the last 50 years, a total of 67 coups happened in 26 countries in Africa, 16 of those countries are french ex-colonies, which means 61% of the coups happened in Francophone Africa.

Number of Coups in Francophone Africa by country

Togo 1
Egypte 1
Tunisia 1
Cote d’Ivoire 1
Equatorial Guinea 1
Madagascar 1
Guinea Bissau 2
Rwanda 1
Algeria 2
Congo – RDC 2
Mali 2
Congo 3
Tchad 3
Burundi 4
Central Africa 4
Niger 4
Mauritania 4
Burkina Faso 5
Comores 5

As these numbers demonstrate, France is quite desperate but active to keep a strong hold on his colonies what ever the cost, no matter what.

In March 2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said:

“Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”

Chirac’s predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that:

“Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”

At this very moment I’m writing this article, 14 african countries are obliged by France, trough a colonial pact, to put 85% of their foreign reserve into France central bank under French minister of Finance control. Until now, 2014, Togo and about 13 other african countries still have to pay colonial debt to France. African leaders who refuse are killed or victim of coup. Those who obey are supported and rewarded by France with lavish lifestyle while their people endure extreme poverty, and desperation.

It’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars from Africa to its treasury year in year out.

We often accuse African leaders of corruption and serving western nations interests instead, but there is a clear explanation for that behavior. They behave so because they are afraid the be killed or victim of a coup. They want a powerful nation to back them in case of aggression or trouble. But, contrary to a friendly nation protection, the western protection is often offered in exchange of these leaders renouncing to serve their own people or nations’ interests.

African leaders would work in the interest of their people if they were not constantly stalked and bullied by colonial countries.

In 1958, scared about the consequence of choosing independence from France, Leopold Sédar Senghor declared: “The choice of the Senegalese people is independence; they want it to take place only in friendship with France, not in dispute.”

From then on France accepted only an “independence on paper” for his colonies, but signed binding “Cooperation Accords”, detailing the nature of their relations with France, in particular ties to France colonial currency (the Franc), France educational system, military and commercial preferences.

Below are the 11 main components of the Colonisation continuation pact since 1950s:

#1. Colonial Debt for the benefits of France colonization
The newly “independent” countries should pay for the infrastructure built by France in the country during colonization.

I still have to find out the complete details about the amounts, the evaluation of the colonial benefits and the terms of payment imposed on the african countries, but we are working on that (help us with info).

#2. Automatic confiscation of national reserves
The African countries should deposit their national monetary reserves into France Central bank.

France has been holding the national reserves of fourteen african countries since 1961: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

“The monetary policy governing such a diverse aggregation of countries is uncomplicated because it is, in fact, operated by the French Treasury, without reference to the central fiscal authorities of any of the WAEMU or the CEMAC. Under the terms of the agreement which set up these banks and the CFA the Central Bank of each African country is obliged to keep at least 65% of its foreign exchange reserves in an “operations account” held at the French Treasury, as well as another 20% to cover financial liabilities.

The CFA central banks also impose a cap on credit extended to each member country equivalent to 20% of that country’s public revenue in the preceding year. Even though the BEAC and the BCEAO have an overdraft facility with the French Treasury, the drawdowns on those overdraft facilities are subject to the consent of the French Treasury. The final say is that of the French Treasury which has invested the foreign reserves of the African countries in its own name on the Paris Bourse.

In short, more than 80% of the foreign reserves of these African countries are deposited in the “operations accounts” controlled by the French Treasury. The two CFA banks are African in name, but have no monetary policies of their own. The countries themselves do not know, nor are they told, how much of the pool of foreign reserves held by the French Treasury belongs to them as a group or individually.

The earnings of the investment of these funds in the French Treasury pool are supposed to be added to the pool but no accounting is given to either the banks or the countries of the details of any such changes. The limited group of high officials in the French Treasury who have knowledge of the amounts in the “operations accounts”, where these funds are invested; whether there is a profit on these investments; are prohibited from disclosing any of this information to the CFA banks or the central banks of the African states .” Wrote Dr. Gary K. Busch

It’s now estimated that France is holding close to 500 billions African countries money in its treasury, and would do anything to fight anyone who want to shed a light on this dark side of the old empire.

The African countries don’t have access to that money.

France allows them to access only 15% of the money in any given year. If they need more than that, they have to borrow the extra money from their own 65% from the French Treasury at commercial rates.

To make things more tragic, France impose a cap on the amount of money the countries could borrow from the reserve. The cap is fixed at 20% of their public revenue in the preceding year. If the countries need to borrow more than 20% of their own money, France has a veto.

Former French President Jacques Chirac recently spoke about the African nations money in France banks. Here is a video of him speaking about the french exploitation scheme. He is speaking in French, but here is a short excerpt transcript: “We have to be honest, and acknowledge that a big part of the money in our banks come precisely from the exploitation of the African continent.”

#3. Right of first refusal on any raw or natural resource discovered in the country
France has the first right to buy any natural resources found in the land of its ex-colonies. It’s only after France would say, “I’m not interested”, that the African countries are allowed to seek other partners.

#4. Priority to French interests and companies in public procurement and public biding
In the award of government contracts, French companies must be considered first, and only after that these countries could look elsewhere. It doesn’t matter if the african countries can obtain better value for money elsewhere.

As consequence, in many of the french ex-colonies, all the majors economical assets of the countries are in the hand of french expatriates. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, french companies own and control all the major utilities – water, electricity, telephone, transport, ports and major banks. The same in commerce, construction, and agriculture.

In the end, as I’ve written in a previous article, Africans now Live On A Continent Owned by Europeans!

#5. Exclusive right to supply military equipment and Train the country military officers
Through a sophisticated scheme of scholarships, grants, and “Defense Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, the africans should send their senior military officers for training in France or French ran-training facilities.

The situation on the continent now is that France has trained hundreds, even thousands of traitors and nourish them. They are dormant when they are not needed, and activated when needed for a coup or any other purpose!

#6. Right for France to pre-deploy troops and intervene military in the country to defend its interests
Under something called “Defence Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, France had the legal right to intervene militarily in the African countries, and also to station troops permanently in bases and military facilities in those
countries, run entirely by the French.

French military bases in Africa

When President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire tried to end the French exploitation of the country, France organized a coup. During the long process to oust Gbagbo, France tanks, helicopter gunships and Special Forces intervened directly in the conflit, fired on civilians and killed many.

To add insult to injury, France estimated that the French business community had lost several millions of dollars when in the rush to leave Abidjan in 2006 the French Army massacred 65 unarmed civilians and wounded 1,200 others.

After France succeeded the coup, and transferred power to Alassane Outtara, France requested Ouattara government to pay compensation to French business community for the losses during the civil war.

Indeed the Ouattara government paid them twice what they said they had lost in leaving.

#7. Obligation to make French the official language of the country and the language for education
Oui, Monsieur. Vous devez parlez français, la langue de Molière!

A French language and culture dissemination organization has been created called “Francophonie” with several satellites and affiliates organizations supervised by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.

As demonstrated in this article, if French is the only language you speak, you’d have access to less than 4% of humanity knowledge and ideas. That’s very limiting.

#8. Obligation to use France colonial money FCFA
That’s the real milk cow for France, but it’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars from Africa to its treasury.

During the introduction of Euro currency in Europe, other european countries discovered the french exploitation scheme. Many, specially the nordic countries, were appalled and suggested France get rid of the system, but unsuccessfully.

#9. Obligation to send France annual balance and reserve report.
Without the report, no money.

Anyway the secretary of the Central banks of the ex-colonies, and the secretary of the bi-annual meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the ex-colonies is carried out by France Central bank / Treasury.

#10. Renonciation to enter into military alliance with any other country unless authorized by France
African countries in general are the ones with will less regional military alliances. Most of the countries have only military alliances with their ex-colonisers! (funny, but you can’t do better!).

In the case France ex-colonies, France forbid them to seek other military alliance except the one it offered them.

#11. Obligation to ally with France in situation of war or global crisis
Over one million africans soldiers fought for the defeat of nazism and fascism during the second world war.

Their contribution is often ignored or minimized, but when you think that it took only 6 weeks for Germany to defeat France in 1940, France knows that Africans could be useful for fighting for la “Grandeur de la France” in the future.

There is something almost psychopathic in the relation of France with Africa.

First, France is severely addicted to looting and exploitation of Africa since the time of slavery. Then there is this complete lack of creativity and imagination of french elite to think beyond the past and tradition.

Finally, France has 2 institutions which are completely frozen into the past, inhabited by paranoid and psychopath “haut fonctionnaires” who spread fear of apocalypse if France would change, and whose ideological reference still comes from the 19th century romanticism: they are the Minister of Finance and Budget of France and the Minister of Foreign affairs of France.

These 2 institutions are not only a threat to Africa, but to the French themselves.

It’s up to us as African to free ourselves, without asking for permission, because I still can’t understand for example how 450 french soldiers in Côte d’Ivoire could control a population of 20 millions people!?

People first reaction when they learn about the french colonial tax is often a question: “Until when?”

For historical comparison, France made Haiti to pay the modern equivalent of $21 billion from 1804 till 1947 (almost one century and half) for the losses caused to french slave traders by the abolition of slavery and the liberation of the Haitian slaves.

African countries are paying the colonial tax only for the last 50 years, so I think one century of payment might be left!

Niger’s coup leaders that toppled Mohamed Bazoum said late Sunday they would “prosecute” the ousted president for “high treason” and “undermining the security” of the country.

This is contained in a statement read out by a member of the junta on national television.

“The Nigerien government has so far gathered… evidence to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international bodies for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger,” said Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane.

Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official residence in Niamey since the coup on July 26, with international concern mounting over their conditions in detention.

According to Al Jazeera the charges against Bazoum were likely to “increase tensions between the military in Niger and the international community.

“This statement is an indication the military isn’t about to let Bazoum go. The charges they’ve announced could result in very serious repercussions for Bazoum.

“This could be an attempt by the military to further strengthen their hand in future negotiations.”

The spokesman for Niger’s military, Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, in his statement on Sunday, dismissed concerns over Bazoum’s health, saying the deposed leader had seen his doctor the previous day.

“After this visit, the doctor raised no problems regarding the state of health of the deposed president and members of his family,” he said.

Abdramane went on to slam ECOWAS sanctions on Niger, saying the “illegal, inhumane and humiliating” measures were making it difficult for people to access medicines, food and electricity.

The military regime said the people of Niger “have been hard hit by the illegal, inhumane and humiliating sanctions imposed by ECOWAS,” according to one of the members of the regime, Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, who added that people were being deprived of medicines, food and electricity.

ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger in response to the coup and has not ruled out using force against the army officers who toppled the democratically elected Bazoum on July 26.

Meanwhile, six Niger soldiers and 10 “terrorists” were killed on Sunday during fighting in the west of the country, authorities said.

Suspected jihadists on motorbikes ambushed the troops near the western town of Sanam on Sunday, according to a statement issued by the National Guard High Command.

Sanam is in the Tillaberi tri-border area where Niger meets Mali and Burkina Faso, a region where jihadist attacks are common.

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is hosting members of the female football team, the Super Falcons, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Super Falcons crashed out of the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, having lost through penalties to the English team last Monday.

The First Lady, who held a similar meeting with the victorious Nigeria female basketball team, D’Tigresses, last Monday, has since been encouraging female sports by urging them on.

The 47-year-old footballer, Bankole Oginni, arrested for killing his ex-lover, Bosede Adejoro, in Akure, the Ondo state capital has denied being a ritualist.

Bankole, told newsmen when paraded alongside some suspected criminals that she slumped a few minutes after offering her soft drinks.

Oginni while speaking with journalists during his parade at the Police headquarters in Akure,

The deceased visited my place on Saturday after calling me the previous day that she needs my help. She was my ex-lover and I have been rendering assistance to her whenever she asked for it.

” I told her to meet me at my parent’s house and she was about to take the soft drinks I offered her when she slumped and I was so scared.

He said that the deceased barely entered his house when she slumped, some few minutes after offering her soft drinks.

According to him, he was scared when the woman slumped and he decided to pour hot water on her body to resuscitate her.

” But when it dawn on me that the she was dead, I poured the hot water on her with the hope that she will wake up. When it dawn on me that she is not going to wake again, I decided to cut her and put it in a sack and dispose it somewhere later.

“I cut her intestines and her so that I can put them inside bags. It was because I was very scared, I was perplexed and I was afraid of the police. I did not do it for any purpose. Nobody sent me to remove her private parts. I did it to cover myself

” I was afraid of the police and wanted to cover up.

” I did not know what to do and that made me take some hard decisions.

The State Police lmage maker, Funmi Odunlami, said that the suspect would soon be charged to court for murder.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is planning to rename the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) Window to the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

The acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Folashodun Shonubi said the decision is because the I&E Window is the only recognised market.

Shonubi said this while delivering a lecture for members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 16 at the National Institute for Security Studies in Abuja.

The lecture was titled, “Diaspora Remittances and Nigeria Economic Development”

In June, the CBN abolished all foreign exchange segments and collapsed them into the I&E Window.

The window has become the sole recognised FX Window for eligible transactions.

The I&E window was established by the CBN in 2017.

The CBN Governor said, “We will rename the foreign exchange market, known as the I & E market, to the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, as it is the sole market we acknowledge.”

Since the naira was floated in June, the currency has depreciated to N955 per dollar at the black market while the I&E window traded at N781.34 againt the dollar.

The forex market is facing liquidity crisis the CBN admitted.

The CBN had also discontinued the Naira for dollar policy which pays N5 incentive for a single dollar remitted from the diaspora through official channels.

The incentive was aimed at attracting people to the official FX market

In a recent conference tagged London Conference 2023 at the Chatham House, London, a panel of discussants, comprising speakers from Asia, Europe, the UK and the USA, shared their perspectives on Geopolitical Competition, Multilateralism and the New World Order. It was quite an interesting session, which focused mainly on the major world economies and super power.

It was quite disheartening for me as an African watching the discussion without any sub Saharan participants or involvement at the table. This realization evokes a sense of the place of Africa in the scheme of global affairs and raises concerns about the relevance of African foreign policy advisers and governments in shaping global affairs. It is time that Africa must strive to make itself a significant player in international conferences and discussions, not by gatecrashing, but by becoming relevant and earning the respect and attention it rightly deserves.

Essentially, the clear message that is conveyed by the absence of Africa at such a crucial global conference, is either that Africa is not taken seriously, not considered relevant or both. And the issues that were discussed at this conference where the other continents were present to the exclusion of Africa have dire consequences and implications for the continent and the world at large.

Should Africa have forced its way by some form of diplomatic gate-crashing or commence a tactical assessment of how to become relevant to earn a seat at the table of such an important conference where global matters are being discussed.
While the idea of gatecrashing into conferences may seem tempting, it is not a sustainable approach for Africa to be taken seriously on the global stage. Instead, African governments and policy advisers should focus on making themselves relevant by actively engaging in international affairs. This can be achieved through diplomatic efforts, good democratic governance, economic growth, and demonstrating expertise in areas of global importance, such as sustainable development, peacekeeping, and climate change.

Diplomatic Engagement
African nations should prioritize diplomatic engagement with major global players to ensure their voices are heard and their interests are represented. This can be achieved through active participation in international organizations, such as the United Nations, African Union, and regional blocs. By actively contributing to discussions and negotiations, Africa can assert its relevance and influence in shaping the new world order.

As it is, Nigeria and South Africa, which are the two leading economies in Africa, seem to be singing discordant tunes and toeing different economic and diplomatic directions. While South Africa has joined Russia in the BRICS bloc, Nigeria remains non-aligned and appears to be more favorably disposed to the UK and the USA.

Although Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was Nigeria’s one-time Foreign Minister; Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy at various times during the Obasanjo and Jonathan’s governments, Africa should not expect her to grant it any undue advantage in such matters, but nothing precludes Nigeria from trying to take the advantage of that position to gain some visibility and traction. But Nigeria’s domestic house must first be in order.

Economic Growth and Expertise
Economic growth is a crucial factor in gaining relevance and respect on the global stage. African nations should focus on developing their economies, attracting foreign investments, and fostering innovation and technological advancements. By becoming economic powerhouses, African countries can command attention and influence in international forums. Additionally, Africa should invest in education and research to develop expertise in areas that are of global significance, such as renewable energy, healthcare, and agriculture.

In conclusion, Africa's absence from discussions on the new world order is a cause for concern, but it also presents an opportunity for African nations to assert their relevance and be taken seriously on the global stage. Rather than gatecrashing into conferences, or engaging in self pity, Africa should focus on making itself relevant through diplomatic engagement, economic growth, and expertise in areas of global importance. By doing so, Africa can ensure that its voice is heard and its interests are represented in shaping the future of the world. It is time for Africa to step up and actively participate in the global discourse.

Brazilian football icon, Neymar is on the verge of becoming the latest football superstar to leave Europe for a club in Saudi Arabia.

The 31-year-old skillful Brazilian winger has approved his move to Saudi Pro League club, Al Hilal after his current club, Paris Saint Germain, had agreed to the move.

Recall that Neymar who currently has two years left on his current contract with PSG, joined the French Ligue 1 champions from FC Barcelona in 2017 for a world record transfer fee worth €222 million.

Last season was so difficult for him that the club’s fans called for his exit from the club. In line with that, ahead of this season, PSG made it clear that the Brazil international is surplus to requirement.

Reports claimed that Neymar was initially interested in returning to FC Barcelona but the financial complications of the club didn’t permit the move to happen. Aside from that, Barca coach, Xavi, reportedly did not buy the idea of having the Brazilian on his team.

Even though Chelsea reportedly showed interest in the injury-prone winger, his financial demands made it clear that the Saudi Pro League would be the most suitable for him.

Interestingly, Al Hilal who have been looking for a football mega superstar to sign were lurking around and were able to convince all parties involved to make the deal happen.

As it stands, all parties involved have agreed to the deal and Neymar’s six-year spell in Paris is about to come to an end in a matter of days.

Italian transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano tweeted, “Al Hilal are preparing formal documents to be checked on Monday to get Neymar Jr deal done.

“Player already approved the move, two-year contract — lawyers will be on it.

“Al Hilal already booked medical tests; waiting for Ney’s camp’s final green light.”

Naija News gathered that Neymar is expected to earn a whopping €160 million per season once the deal is sealed which will make him the third highest-paid player in the world behind Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr, and Karim Benzema of Al-Ittihad.