Many Africans seem ambivalent about Putin’s attempts to recreate Russia’s empire, even though colonialism caused the African continent so much personal pain and injury, and seeded state dysfunction. Liberation struggles should be worthy of support, in Europe as in Africa.
‘No nation has the right to make decisions for another nation; no people for another people.” These were the words of Tanzanian President Julius Kambarage Nyerere on colonialism in January 1968. Such perspectives have apparently been forgotten in responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Amid confusingly contrarian reports how Russia is “about to run out of steam” in its invasion of Ukraine, how Russia is openly no longer “limiting its war aims” to Ukraine’s eastern areas, and the grain shipment deal agreed on by Kyiv and Moscow followed immediately by Russian missile-strikes on the Odesa port, one African contradiction stands out: Why, in the face of an obvious abrogation of human rights and international law by Russia, do many African states refuse to take the side of Ukraine?
The answer may have to do with opportunism.
The South African Department of International Relations and Co-operation has examined how South African businesses can profit by plugging the holes created by…
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday begins a three-nation tour of western African states in the first trip to Africa of his new term as he seeks to reboot France’s post-colonial relationship with the continent.
Macron will begin his July 25-28 tour, also the first venture outside Europe of his new mandate, with a visit to Cameroon, before moving on to Benin and then finishing the trip in Guinea-Bissau.
Top of the agenda in the talks will be food supply issues, with African nations fearing shortages especially of grain due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But security will also loom large as France prepares to complete its pullout from Mali this year, with all countries in the region seeking to head off fears of Islamist insurgencies.
The trip to three countries which rarely feature on the itinerary of global leaders comes with Macron, who won a new term in April, pledging to keep up his bid for a new relationship between France and Africa.
France has also followed with concern the emergence of other powers seeking a foothold in an area Paris still considers parts of its sphere of influence, notably Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but also increasingly China and Russia.
‘Political priority’
The tour “will show the commitment of the president in the process of renewing the relationship with the African continent”, said a French presidential official, who asked not to be named.
It will signal that the African continent is a “political priority” of his presidency.
In Cameroon, which has been riven by ethnic violence and an insurgency by anglophone separatists, Macron will meet President Paul Biya, 89, who has ruled the country for almost 40 years and is the longest-serving non-royal leader in the world.
Biya has run the country with an iron fist, refusing demands for federalism and cracking down on the rebellion by separatists.
Macron will move on Wednesday to Benin, a neighbour of Africa’s most populous nation Nigeria. The north of the country has faced more deadly attacks, with the jihadist threat now spreading from the Sahel to Gulf of Guinea nations.
He is likely to be lauded for championing the return in November of 26 historic treasures which were stolen in 1892 by French colonial forces from Abomey, capital of the former Dahomey kingdom located in the south of modern-day Benin.
Benin was long praised for its thriving multi-party democracy. But critics say its democracy has steadily eroded under President Patrice Talon over the last half decade. Opposition leader Reckya Madougou was sentenced in 2021 to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges.
On Thursday, Macron will finish his tour in Guinea-Bissau, which has been riven by political crisis at a time when its President Umaro Sissoco Embalo is preparing to take the helm of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Rethink strategy
With all the countries criticised by activists over their rights records, the Elysee has insisted that governance and rights issues will be raised, albeit “without media noise but in the form of direct exchanges between the heads of states”.
Macron’s first term was marked by visits to non-francophone African countries including regional powerhouses Nigeria and South Africa as he sought to engage with the entire continent and not just former French possessions.
Benin is a former French colony, but Guinea-Bissau was once a Portuguese colony while Cameroon’s colonial heritage is a mixture of British and German as well as French.
Macron meanwhile has insisted France’s military presence in the region will adapt rather than disappear once the pullout from Mali is complete.
He announced last week that a rethink of France’s presence would be complete by autumn, saying the military should be “less exposed” in the future but their deployment still a “strategic necessity”.
The pullout from Mali follows a breakdown in relations with the country’s ruling junta, which Western states accuse of relying on Russian Wagner mercenaries rather than European allies to fight an Islamist insurgency.
South Africa won all six matches in Morocco en route to becoming African Champions.
The South African women’s national team are the new champions of women’s football in Africa. The Banyana Banyana beat host Morocco 2-1 to officially dethrone Nigeria’s Super Falcons as the new queens of football on the continent.
After coming close on a number of occasions; getting to the finals five times, Banyana Banyana finally got it right Saturday in Rabat. Hildah Magaia was the heroine; hitting two crucial goals that saw Bayana Bayana taking over from Nigeria as the new champions.
Tense final
The Banyana showed intent early in the game and three minutes from the start, they nearly had the lead through a snapshot from Magaia in the area, but it was cleared following a loose ball.
As the Atlas Lionessess settled into the game, they caused the South African defence a lot of headaches but just could not get the goal they wanted. Morocco appeared fired up shortly after the halftime period and were able to break through the defensive lines of the South Africans, but nothing worthwhile materialised.
Banyana finally found a breakthrough midway in the second half when Magaia got space in the box and finished off Jermaine Seoposenwe’s cutback. While the Moroccans were battling for an equaliser, the Banyana doubled their lead in the 71st minute. And it was Magaia again who connected with Karabo Dhlamini’s long pass and finished off from close-range to complete her brace.
Morocco didn’t go down without a fight as they pulled one back through a calm first-time finish in the area from Rosella Ayane. However, in spite of persistent pressure from all fronts, the Banyana held on for the win and their first continental title.
South Africa won all six matches in Morocco en route to becoming African Champions.
Some of African football’s stellar names graced the CAF Awards 2022 last night, as the event cemented its status as one of the world’s biggest and most important football celebrations.
All the big names of the game converged on Rabat’s stunning Mohammed VI Technical Centre, donning their finest regalia and beautiful bright African colours.
Emmanuel Adebayor, El Hadji Diouf, Mercy Akide, Rigobert Song, Claude Makelele, Lucas Radebe, Samuel Eto’o, Perpetua Nkwocha, Wael Gomaa and Kalusha Bwalya were just some of the African and world football superstars who graced the occasion.
Banyana Banyana legend Amanda Dlamani said the awards were a huge step up from the times when she was still playing international football and provided huge motivation to show current players the global levels they can now attain in the game.
“I wish there was this type of reward when I was still playing. It sure is a great opportunity and motivation for players to really excel in the game. Seeing CAF Awards of this stature is really good for the development of African football,” said Dlamini.
One of the Indomitable Lionesses stars, Gaelle Moudio, said “it’s just magnificent what CAF has organised here”.
“I didn’t think it could be so grandiose. It’s an iconic moment. Players have not always been recognized for their contribution, but today things have changed so much for the better for especially African women’s football,” said Moudio of a night when Senegal’s Sadio Mane was fittingly crowned Africa’s Player of the Year and when Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala claimed a record fifth African Player of the Year title.
Super Falcons legend Rachel Ayegba said: “It’s just beautiful what we’re experiencing here. This is an event that comes during another great event that is the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. It’s just amazing to see so many big names and leaders of African football gathered in the same place at the same time,” said Ayegba, who also hailed the initiative of hosting an exhibition CAF Legends versus Morocco Legends match on the day of the CAF Awards.
The Senegal forward is crowned African Player of the Year after helping his country win the first AFCON title.
Sadio Mane has been named African Footballer of Year after a season that saw him kick the winning penalty for Senegal as they claimed their first Africa Cup of Nations title and repeat the feat when they secured the World Cup qualification.
The 30-year-old forward player, who signed a three-year deal with German giants Bayern Munich last month, won the award for the first time in 2019 while he was at English side Liverpool.
“I am really honoured and highly delighted to receive this award again,” Mane said on Thursday. “Thanks to my coaches, my club and national team colleagues and those friends who stood by me during difficult times.”
“I dedicate this award to the youth of Senegal. I’m very emotional and don’t have the words to express how I’m feeling,” he added.
Nigerian Asisat Oshoala won the Women’s Player of the Year for a record fifth time, overtaking compatriot Perpetua Nkwocha.
The 27-year-old Barcelona forward was forced to miss the ongoing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco due to an injury.
Sadio Mane joined Liverpool in 2016 from Southampton; last month, he signed for Bayern Munich [File: Pablo Morano/Reuters]
Mane was in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, to receive the award after a dash across the Atlantic having converted a penalty for his new club in a 6-2 pre-season friendly win over DC United in Washington on Wednesday.
He won ahead of former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah from Egypt and fellow Senegal international and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Mane and Salah played pivotal roles last season with Liverpool, who lifted the FA Cup and English League Cup and finished runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League.
Salah has since signed a new contract at Anfield while Mane opted for a move, with Bayern reportedly paying an initial 32 million euros ($32.5m) that could rise to 41 million euros ($41.7m).
In February, Mane converted the decisive fifth penalty to give Senegal a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Egypt and a first Africa Cup of Nations title after the final ended 0-0 in Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital.
A month later, Mane was once again the shoot-out match-winner against Egypt, this time in a World Cup playoff near Senegal’s capital, Dakar, after a 1-1 aggregate impasse.
Bayern Munich confirmed the signing of Sadio Mane from Liverpool on June 22 [File: Christof Stache/AFP]
Born in a village nearly 400km (250 miles) from Dakar, Mane attracted the attention of Metz having played for local second-tier club Generation Foot.
After enhancing his reputation at Salzburg, Mane joined Southampton, where his feats included scoring a record-breaking 176-second Premier League hat-trick against Aston Villa.
In mid-2016, the Senegalese signed for Liverpool and went on to form a fearsome front three with Salah and Brazilian Roberto Firmino.
As Mane moved to Bayern, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “My only criticism of Sadio is that maybe at times he is the only one not to realise just how good he is.”
Mane won the award for the second time in his career [Abdelhak Balhaki/Reuters]
Football: African awards winners
Men
Player of the Year: Sadio Mane (Senegal)
Club Player of the Year: Mohamed el Shenawy (Al Ahly/Egypt)
Young Player of the Year: Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
Coach of the Year: Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
National Team of the Year: Senegal
Club of the Year: Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
Goal of the Year: Pape Ousmane Sakho (Senegal, Simba/TAN)
Women
Player of the Year: Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria)
Club Player of the Year: Evelyn Badu (Avaldsnes/Norway, Ghana)
Young Player of the Year: Badu
Coach of the Year: Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
Club of the Year: Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
National Team of the Year: To be announced after Cup of Nations final between Morocco and South Africa in Rabat on Saturday
Asisat Oshoala poses with the trophy next to CAF President Patrice Motsepe (left), after winning the Women’s Player of the Year award [AFP]
The Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC), the first-ever continent-wide gathering of African leaders, citizens, and interest groups, gathered in Kigali from Monday, Jul 18 to Jul 23 to discuss the role of protected areas in conserving nature. Rwanda hosted the conference in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). CREDIT: Aimable Twahirwa/IPS
by Aimable Twahirwa (kigali)
Inter Press Service
Kigali, Jul 21 (IPS) – For many years, East African countries were considered wildlife trafficking hotspots. Now conservation organisations have started to mobilise all stakeholders to combat the illegal trade that targets animals – some to the edge of extinction.
“A slight progress has been made in combatting the illicit trade of wildlife and their products, but Governments from the region still face grave challenges posed by the fact that they are mostly single-species focused on their conservation efforts,” Andrew McVey, climate advisor at World Wildlife Fund (WWF) from East African region told IPS.
According to experts, while countries are committed to cooperation and collaboration to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking within the shared ecosystems, organised criminal networks are cashing in on elephant poaching. Trafficking ivory has reached unprecedented volumes, and syndicates are operating with impunity and little fear of prosecution.
Delegates at the first Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) noted the lack of strict sanctions and penalties for illegal activities and limited disincentives to prevent poaching, trafficking or illicit trade impacted efforts to counter wildlife trafficking across the region. The gathering in Kigali was organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Fidele Ruzigandekwe, the Deputy Executive Secretary for Programs at the Rwandan-based Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC), told IPS that sharing information, community empowerment and enforcing laws and judiciary system were among crucial factors needed to slow the illegal trade of wildlife. The GVTC is a conservation NGO working in Greater Virunga Landscape across transborder zones between Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“There is also a need to rely on technology such as high-tech surveillance devices to combat wildlife poachers and traffickers,” Ruzigandekwe added.
Elephant tusks are of high value in the Far East, particularly in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, where many use them for ornamentation and religious purposes. Both scientists and activists believe that despite current mobilisation, the demand is still increasing as transnational syndicates involved in wildlife crime are exploiting new technologies and networks to escape from arrests, prosecutions, or convictions
Although some experts were delighted to note that countries had made some progress in cooperating to fight trans-border wildlife trafficking, estimates by NGO TRAFFIC indicate that about 55 African Elephants are poached on the continent every day.
INTERPOL has identified East Africa as one of several priority regions for enhanced law enforcement responses to ivory trafficking.
Reports by the INTERPOL indicate that law enforcement officials recently discovered an illegal shipment of ivory inside shipping containers, primarily from Tanzania. It was to be transported to Asian maritime transit hubs.
Both scientists and decision-makers unanimously agreed on the need to mobilise more funding to support measures to tackle ivory trafficking.
“Duplication of conservation efforts and inadequate collaboration among countries has been one of the greatest challenges to implementation,” Simon Kiarie, Principal Tourism Officer at the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat, told IPS.
To cope with these challenges, member countries of the EAC, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Rwanda, have jointly developed a Regional Strategy to Combat Poaching and Illegal Trade and Tracking of Wildlife and Wildlife Products which is being implemented at the regional and national levels.
The strategy revolves around six key pillars, including strengthening policy framework, enhancing law enforcement capacity, research and development, involvement of local communities and supporting regional and international collaboration.
During a session on the sidelines of the congress, many delegates expressed strong feelings that when the elephant population is threatened by poaching, local communities suffer too.
“Through the illegal trade in wildlife, local communities lose socially and economically important resources (…) the benefits from illegal wildlife trade are not shared among communities,” Telesphore Ngoga, a conservation analyst at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), a government body with conservation in its mandate told IPS.
The Rwandan Government introduced a Tourism Revenue Sharing programme in 2005 to share a percentage (currently 10%) of the total tourism park revenues with the communities living around the parks.
The major purpose of this community initiative is to encourage environmental and wildlife conservation and give back to the communities living near parks, who are socially and economically impacted by wildlife and other touristic endeavours.
Manasseh Karambizi, a former elephant poacher from Kayonza, a district in Eastern Rwanda, who became a park ranger, told IPS that after being sensitised about the dangers of wildlife hunting, he is now aware of the benefits of wildlife conservation.
“Thanks to the income generated from tourism activities from the neighbouring national park, communities are benefiting a lot. I am now able to feed my family, and my children are going to school,” the 46-year-old father of five said.
Senegal’s Sadio Mané and Egypt’s Mo Salah are among 10 players nominated for the African Footballer of the Year prize at this year’s Caf Awards held by the Confederation of African Football in Rabat, Morocco.
Both players rose to global prominence playing for Liverpool in the English Premier League, propelling the club to three champions league finals and winning a title. Both have won Caf player of the year before, Salah twice in 2017 and 2018, and Mané once in 2019. Now Mané is poised to even the score at 2-2.
Star forwards, their pursuits on the field are the stuff of fame and constant headlines. Mané grew up in the village of Bambali, Senegal and began his professional career at 19. Salah was born in Basyoun, Egypt and was also a football-loving child. He signed his first contract with a local club at 14. As African players shine in Europe, they are at the front of the changing face of international football.
There are thousands of African players like them, born and raised in humble circumstances with football offering a rare escape from poverty. Each of these players aspires to hold trophies in their hands. While Salah and Mané pave the way, the constant media attention on the exploits of African players in Europe tends to downplay the heroic exploits of African-based stars in national leagues and Pan African club competitions.
This lack of visibility could create an impression that top class football is played only in Europe. While Mané and Salah bring headlines to the 2022 prize, there are several other awards on the night that help highlight the talent working at home.
Mané or Salah?
Mané has been reigning Caf player of the year since 2019 as the COVID pandemic and schedule changes postponed it for two years. Having recently joined Bayern Munich in Germany from Liverpool in the UK, he is one of several Africans playing in the English Premier League who made the 2022 shortlist. In fact five of the ten do.
Mané is the favourite to win again this year after leading Senegal to glory for the first time at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in February. The country also qualified for the World Cup Qatar 2022. Mané was voted best player of Afcon.
However, Salah also has strong credentials. A great season saw him win top scorer and player with the most goal assists in the Premier League. He was the Professional Footballers’ Association and Player Writer’s footballer of the year, beating Mané.
But given the fact that this award is for a player who best represents African football, it would be an upset if Mané’s national accomplishments at Afcon would not prevail over the individual accolades for Salah.
The other contenders
While Mané and Salah are standout candidates, flying below the radar for CAF’s male footballer of the year is Senegal and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. This season he was in the winning teams at the FIFA Club World Cup, AFCON and the UEFA Supercup. He was World’s Best Goalkeeper in 2021. Although goalkeeping is not a high profile position, Mendy’s performance credentials make him a favourite. Should he win he would be only the third goalkeeper to do so and the first since 1986.
The English Premier League dominates the shortlist when it comes to clubs, but when it comes to countries Senegal comes out on top with three players. Cameroon has two and Egypt, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Algeria each have one. Geographically speaking, West and Central Africa edge out North Africa. Despite Ghana, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa having a high sporting profile, they are nowhere on the list.
African clubs miss out
The last time an African-based player won player of the year was Egypt’s Mahmoud El Khatib. The last four decades have witnessed a complete transformation in the African football and global football landscapes. Most African stars ply their trade in Europe where they are paid millions of dollars. It’s hard for an African club to house a player that can replicate El Khatib’s accomplishment. It is regrettable that excelling in Europe increasingly provides a more compelling case to be voted a CAF player of the year.
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However, there are seven other categories at the CAF awards that offer better chances for African-based nominees to win. These include coach of the year, where Aliou Cissé, Pitso Mosimane, Carlos Queiroz, Tom Saintfiet and Walid Regragui have made the cut. There are also trophies for best young player, club and national team.
A CAFAF award sets winners apart as all time greats to be talked about for generations; it sets up contracts and financial opportunities. Even as Mané and Salah attract the lion’s share of the headlines, one should remember that many more talented players are waiting in the wings – but they will require identifying and nurturing. Caf, national football associations and African clubs have an obligation to invest in and unearth this talent while also celebrating their stars.
Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu, Professor, Health and Kinesiology, University of Texas at Tyler
. Renewable power to become a major energy source by 2050 . Telcos facing several challenges in their roadmap to net-zero
Renewable power is expected to become a major energy source by 2050, a report by Huawei has stated.
Renewable energy is derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. Sunlight and wind, for example, are sources that are constantly being replenished. Renewable energy sources are plentiful and all around us.
The report, “Huawei Digital Power Introduction,” which noted that in South Africa, carbon neutral would be realised by 2050, estimated a peak value of 2025 with 16 per cent renewable energy. It said that in Nigeria, carbon neutrality would be realised by 2060 but GHG emissions would be reduced by 2050, while there is a 43 per cent renewable energy target by 2030. In Kenya, Huawei said carbon neutral will be realized in 2050, while there is currently 90 per cent renewable in the country.
Huawei noted in the report that there is huge interest in solar power utilities in Africa. It stressed that the continent’s solar energy resource is almost 40 per cent of the global total, but has only one per cent installed capacity of the globe.
The report claimed that Africa’s solar energy is estimated at 60, 000,000 TWh/year. In the African solar power market, Huawei claimed only two per cent of PV-related funds had been invested in the African market in the past 20 years.
While the world’s investment in solar power rose to $2.25 trillion and cumulatively $2.84 trillion as of 2020, the report said Africa has $55 billion and cumulatively $60 billion investment in the period under review. The breakdown put North Africa’s investment at $17.5 billion; West Africa at $3.9 billion; East Africa’s $9.7 billion; Central Africa at $1.3 billion and Souther Africa at $22.4 billion.
MEANWHILE, TelecomTv analysis has revealed that the biggest challenge on operators’ pathway to a net-zero future is the lack of clear methodology for their suppliers to report carbon emissions. This is according to analysts from telecoms consultant, STL Partners, who have stressed the need for telcos to collaborate much more if they are to tackle value chain hurdles.
During a webinar presentation, the company shared findings based on discussions it held with 40 telecom operators worldwide regarding their sustainability efforts. It discovered the main challenge to improved environmental sustainability is around data capture and methodology for Scope 3 emissions (indirect, produced within the value chain).
Principal Analyst at STL Partners, Amy Cameron, said: “That’s difficult because you’re depending on all of your partners and suppliers across your entire value chain to report – and many companies are not reporting this very well yet.”
“In fact, Scope 1 emissions (direct, made by the company’s facilities, fleet, etc) and Scope 2 emissions (indirect, covering the purchase of electricity for the company’s own use) were found to constitute around 20 per cent of telecoms operators’ carbon footprint, while emissions produced in the supply chain (Scope 3) serve as the biggest contributor to environmental pollution.”
According to the company, there is a need for telcos to express their sustainability demands when working with suppliers. “One key thing is having really strict stipulations on suppliers, making that part of the decision-making process and framework when it comes to selecting partners you would work with, instead of it just being around cost,” recommended Grace Donnelly, senior consultant and sustainability practice lead at STL Partners. Another option is for telcos to stipulate that 20 per cent to 30 per cent of a contract be based on whether the supplier can provide transparent reporting on their own emissions.
Cameron concurred, adding that there is a need for industry and regulatory collaboration on standardisation, otherwise the ability to capture and reduce Scope 3 emissions wouldn’t be possible.
The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN Alliance) and Rakuten Symphony have recently shared ideas for a methodology to assess the quality of sustainability of telco equipment and third-party activities.
Another significant challenge outlined by telcos who were surveyed by STL Partners relates to the acceleration of the circular economy, which is closely linked to Scope 3 and finding ways to reuse or recycle elements in the value chain.
Interestingly, operators were also found to lack clarity around how 5G and virtualisation will affect carbon emissions, despite numerous claims by analyst bodies and telco players that the next-generation mobile network is much more energy efficient than earlier generations.
Some telcos, STL stated, encounter difficulties with securing buy-in from key stakeholders when it comes to enhancing their sustainability credentials. Here, Cameron argued that environmental sustainability cannot be the responsibility solely of teams focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) but needs involvement from every person and level within an organisation. On that note, she suggested that the bonus structure for employees should not just be about hitting financial, operational or customer engagement targets, but “should also be about hitting some sustainability targets.”
The Lagos State Chairman of the Action Congress Chairman, Adekunle Oluseyi Ajayi has resigned from his position.
Ajayi disclosed this in a letter to the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee of the party.
He thanked the leadership of the party for giving him the opportunity to lead the party in the former nation’s capital.
The letter read, “It has been so wonderful working as the Chair of the Lagos State branch of our great party the African Action Congress (AAC). In my over three years of being Chair, I have great development as a human and a political figure. Passing through many hurdles and having to battle against legal and political attacks, one has grown more strengths and experience.
“I was elected in a Congress alongside very wonderful comrades. We have worked so much so far. We have laid a fine party foundation with robust radical culture setting examples as the directional guide for party building. It’s no wonder that in the Revolutionary interventions of the party, we have been the pacesetters; thus we effectively intervened in the EndSARS movements in Lagos when it broke out, and have been in the lead for its sustenance all through #OccupyLekkiTollGate to the sound victory at the EndSARS Panel Reports which finally exposed the evil killings by the Nigerian government of protesters at the Lekki Barricades.
“Our leadership has also helped to guide the party on a sound ideological footing with clear-cut Marxist revolutionary ideas and convictions. Our members have become well-groomed in understanding the political economy as well as political philosophies. Our internal democratic engagements have made us very attractive to all, as we have seriously promoted and practised a party where every member can ask questions as well as have the effrontery to proffer solutions and initiatives.
“Most of our challenges are caused by the state attacks we have had this far, as well as the enormity of the heavy works we have had to do. History has put on us the weight of works that should be done in decades, just in three years. We have decided not to lament but to do our bests. Whether we have done the same so satisfactorily is best known to history, the party, and posterity.
“The tasks are still plenty. We need to be more fervent with internal democracy and building alliances and networking. We also need to be structural with political education. Just as we as well need to do what Che Guevara and Castro had to do; Educating The Masses. It’s rigorous. But we are condemned to do same!
“Nigeria is caught between revolution and war. In all of the permutations of the ruling class, war is the way. But even we can be victorious either at the ballot come 2023, we still have to wage a revolution. The ruling class will fight back even if we win at the polls. This is why we must mobilize for the elections as if we are mobilizing for #RevolutionNow.
“This will help to dot all the I’s and cross the T’s of our projects. I will continue to be on hand to play my roles no matter how little. I will like to thank the NWC for giving me the chance to lead this far. I will also thank the NEC for standing strong so far. With this letter, I will be handing over all party properties in my care.”
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has congratulated the Egyptian national team on claiming their eighth title of the African Men’s Handball Championship, hosted by Egypt.
In a cable of greetings to the team, Sisi hailed as “heroic” the performance shown by the Pharaohs throughout the tournament.
The president also praised the successive achievements made by the national team in different international competitions.
