The Black Stallions of Nigeria edged the Eagles of Ghana 14-12 to clinch the inaugural President’s Cup at the Nduom Sports Stadium in Elmina, Cape Coast Ghana on Saturday. The first half ended without points from both teams as the Black Stallions dominated and pinned the Eagles in their half for the most part of the half. Captain Onoru Jatto opened the scoring through a superb move from a quick line out in the 50th minute converted by Joshua Etim for 7 points.
The Eagles responded within 5 minutes with a power-play try but the conversion was missed. Black Stallions center; Joshua Etim crossed over the whitewash from another set play in the 60th minute and converted to put the Stallions 12-5 up. The Ghanaians crossed over for a try which was converted in the 75th minute but the Stallions held on for their win in Elmina, Cape Coast as the match ended 14-12.
The Ghana-Nigeria President’s Cup was announced earlier this year in March by the Presidents of Ghana Rugby, Mr. Herbert Mensah, and the President of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation, Mr. Kelechukwu Mbagwu.
Speaking from Lagos, Mbagwu said, “My brother Herbert, President of the Ghanaian Rugby Union. I thank you for the touching and heartwarming message. It is indeed an encounter between two brothers who love and respect each other. Nevertheless, the match was just as keen for that very reason. The President’s Cup is a symbol of our progress in the great game and our brotherhood. We look forward to hosting Ghana in Nigeria soon.”
This match marked the end of the 2019 WARS (West African Rugby Series) Men’s XVs Ghana Invitational Tournament as Nigeria finished runners up of the tournament behind Ivory Coast.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ILO TEAM 0A&B; President Muhammadu Buhari addresses the Director-General of International Labour Organisation, (ILO), Mr. Guy Ryder and his team during an audience with the President at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. AUGUST 1 2019.
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ILO TEAM 0A&B; President Muhammadu Buhari addresses the Director-General of International Labour Organisation, (ILO), Mr. Guy Ryder and his team during an audience with the President at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. AUGUST 1 2019.
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ILO TEAM 4; R-L; Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, President Muhammadu Buhari in a handshake with the Director-General of International Labour Organisation, (ILO), Mr Guy Ryder, Director ILO Country office of Nigeria, Mr Dennis Zulu, Ms Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon during an audience with the President at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. AUGUST 1 2019.
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ILO TEAM 6; President Muhammadu Buhari in a handshake with Mr. Yasser Hassan. Others are Director ILO Country office of Nigeria, Mr. Dennis Zulu, Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, UN Resident Coordinator, Edward Kallon and Director-General of International Labour Organisation, (ILO), Mr. Guy Ryder (R) during an audience with the President at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. AUGUST 1 2019.
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ILO TEAM ; R-L; Permanent Secretaries, SGF Mr. Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, President Muhammadu Buhari in a handshake with the Director-General of International Labour Organisation, (ILO), Mr Guy Ryder, Director ILO Country office of Nigeria, Mr Dennis Zulu, Ms Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon Mr Yasser Hassan. UN Resident Coordinator, Edward Kallon during an audience with the President at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. AUGUST 1 2019.
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ILO TEAM 7; President Muhammadu Buhari in a handshake with NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba. Others are Director ILO Country office of Nigeria, Mr. Dennis Zulu, Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon and Mr. Yasser Hassan during an audience with the President at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. AUGUST 1 2019.
SUNDAY AGHAEZE( HND Mass Comm, PGDBA) PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT International Photojournalist +234-803-3031520, 0805-2039160 email; suaghaeze@gmail.com aghaezesun@gmail.com
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
We are in an increasingly dire state – overlooked and forgotten by the world at large, which allows our captors to inflict unspeakable violence upon us.
I write to you today from Kondengui Principal Prison, where I am unjustly detained with a sizeable part of my cabinet and with thousands of other Southern Cameroonian prisoners who have run afoul of the repressive regime of Paul Biya, the long-ruling despot of Cameroon.
We are in an increasingly dire state – overlooked and forgotten by the world at large, which allows our captors to inflict unspeakable violence upon us. This, in reality, is indicative of the broader struggle that my people have faced, often in silence and too often disregarded.
Over the past two years, I have the honor of serving as the president of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government. Several months ago, I was illegally abducted, together with part of my cabinet from the Nera Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, and thereafter illegally transported to Cameroon, in violation of international law. To be sure, I am merely the latest victim of a catastrophe that has been long-simmering, evident today by a growing social fissure that has resulted in countless deaths and destruction.
Historically, The Republic of Cameroon achieved its independence on January 1, 1960, and became a member of United Nations with her own territory clearly defined, sharing a recognized boundary with Southern Cameroons. British Southern Cameroons was later granted its independence on October 1, 1961, with her own territory clearly mapped out as well, sharing common boundaries with the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Cameroon.
As such, the root cause of today’s ongoing crisis is the result of a severely botched decolonization process. And this must be addressed immediately before a lasting solution can be found, one that is built on a foundation of international law and a culture of justice and respect for basic human dignity.
Put simply, international law provides Southern Cameroons the right to self-determination. What is more, the violence and killings that are taking place in Southern Cameroons at this time, has left us with no alternative than to fight, to defend and to liberate ourselves from the shackles of black on black colonialization.
The unjust treatment of Southern Cameroonians is today, an unavoidable and tragic reality. Our people are being killed not for what they have done but for who they are. Our people have indeed been described as “rats” and “dogs” by members of Cameroon’s government. There are calls to exterminate us, and other Ambazonians, with the justification that President Biya has the right to kill everyone on the pretext of “national unity.”
Imagine being told that you are the enemies in the house; imagine your people being told to vacate their ancestral lands and villages or be considered terrorists; imagine the scorched earth policy and military operations in our villages that have spared no one, not even elderly women and young children; just imagine being made to feel like a second class citizen in the country of your birth. These are the stone-cold and brutal facts of today and living conditions in which we are forced to somehow survive.
On the basis of these reprehensible and humiliating conditions, Southern Cameroonian leaders have sought, on multiple occasions over the years, to engage in peaceful dialogue with Cameroonian authorities. We have been consistently refused this opportunity. Over the due course of time, our people – myself included – realized that we were simply victims of another broken promise and the signs of impending disaster were manifest.
Our hopes were dashed and many of our leaders, both political and civic, were thrown illegally into jail. Protests had failed. Attempts at good-faith dialogue also failed. We were stymied. We were beaten. And we were humiliated in the process. We thus came to the realization that collectively we had no other alternative except that of preparing for direct confrontation, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the international community.
Put simply, the people of Southern Cameroons have lost faith in the Cameroon experiment – it is indeed an incurable disease. Paul Biya and his regime have ruthlessly cracked down on our peaceful people – our mothers, fathers and children alike – with a ferocious barbarity. War has been declared on our people. This is all to remind onlookers and readers that we did not move irresponsibly into direct confrontation with authorities in Cameroon. We have always advocated for a peaceful resolution to the root causes of this crisis. However, Biya and his regime thought otherwise, determining that violence can be the solution.
Never again can we, the people of Southern Cameroons, afford to live with the narrow and institutionalized status of second-class citizens – certainly not in the land of our ancestors.
Today, the winds of freedom and liberty beckon to your divine conscience to tell your governments and your elected representatives worldwide: Let my people go! Support our democratic aspirations. This struggle has gone beyond that of individuals like me willing to pay the ultimate price for the freedom of our people. Join our struggle for human decency and the battle for respect of our bodies, hearts and minds, our traditions and values. The struggle for the complete independence of Southern Cameroons is your struggle. Please, stand with us.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
In this interview, he speaks on the need for Africa to bridge its yawning infrastructure gap and how the AFC is working towards providing the infrastructure base that will allow for regional trade to take place on the continent. Excerpts:
Despite efforts of development finance institutions to boost infrastructure outlay, Africa still has a huge infrastructure deficit. What needs to change to bridge the gap?
There are several ways of looking at Africa’s infrastructure gap. Let’s start at the macro level. Look at the investment required for infrastructure; it is about $170billion annually and most of that is for water and sanitation infrastructure which should take $67billion. Energy requires an investment of about $50billion, transport and logistics take $47billion while ICT takes $7billion.
However, Africa has been spending $77billion annually on infrastructure in the last seven years and that leaves a deficit of about $93billion. So, we should look at areas where the private sector can come in such as transport and logistics, based on a public-private -partnership basis.
Why is PPP not as forthcoming as you would like?
There are several points through which the private sector can come in. Water and sanitation is a bit of a challenge for private sector investment because they are viewed as social goods and so governments need to really concentrate on that. For energy, what is important is a pragmatic view of what is required. Governments fail to understand that they alone cannot make the investments that the continent needs, so they need private players. However, they need to de-risk the sector for private capital to come in.
So, the big challenge with infrastructure is that private capital is not flowing into that space. Capital is shy and you have to make it comfortable. So, African governments need to understand that they should make investors comfortable so they can come into the sector and once the sector receives these investments and the critical mass is built, they can withdraw the credit enhancement that is required to attract the investment.
Which countries have successfully deployed this model you described?
We have seen it in several economies. For example, in Turkey, they had bankable power purchase agreements (PPAs) to mobilize and encourage investors. However, when they achieved the requisite investment critical mass, they stopped providing the PPAs. So, there are no PPAs in Turkey today, as the power market has stabilized. Businesses produce the power and the government buys as it needs.
The AfCFTA has come into force and a common market will be launched in July. What role can the AFC play to ensure that it achieves its goal?
We have always believed that infrastructure deficit is a hindrance to regional trade. Africa has the lowest level of regional trade in the world. Some say it is at 10 percent while others say it is 18 percent.
However, the best estimate we have seen is 20 percent which is still very low when compared to Europe where it is 70 percent and Asia at 60 percent. A major bottleneck is an infrastructure. For example, a company in Nigeria finds it difficult to export to Cameroon or Benin Republic because of poor infrastructure. What we are trying to do at AFC is to provide that infrastructure base that will allow for regional trade to take place.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
In this interview, Jean-Louis Ekra, former president of Afreximbank, spoke on the emerging Russia-Africa relations and the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreements which was just signed by African leaders in Niamey, Niger, among other issues. Excerpts:
What are the prospects of African Continental Free Trade Area agreement hold for Africa’s development?
You know that Africa is a continent that trades the least with itself. There are benefits trading with your neighbours, like reduced costs and so on. The first thing that African countries will benefit from this agreement is the opportunity to trade with their neighbours by just opening borders. The second is that it will push countries to transform their usual commodities into manufactured goods. You need to have complementary products to trade effectively with your neighbours. So, it will be a good incentive for African economies to enter a process like AfCFTA that will help to transform their economies.
What is your view on the future of Africa-Russia relationship?
Africa needs to diversify its relationships for its own benefit. A diversified relationship protects one if one of many partners falls on bad times. So, it is important for Africa, from that perspective, to diversify its relationship. So the Russia-Africa relationship is welcomed in that context.
How best can Africa leverage on its relationship with Russia to bridge its infrastructural gap?
Russia, as you know, has advanced technology. In infrastructure, Russia is well known for power. It has capabilities in solar and hydropower energy that can be implemented in our continent. So, I think that it will be good for African and Russian private sectors to jointly develop those activities. Some are canvassing that Africa countries should bring home some of their foreign reserves held abroad for investment in Africa.
What is your view? There is an initiative that we launched in Afreximbank when I was there, which is ongoing. Yes, it is correct for Africa to try and use, as much as possible, its own resources, including external reserves. There is no reason the continent should be borrowing money when it has money in deposits in other places. Won’t it have an adverse impact on foreign exchange markets on the continent? No. It won’t. These reserves are backed by strong ratings of an institution like Afreximbank. You have currency in America or in Europe. If you have it in Africa it is still your own, So it should not affect your exchange rate.
On the event that this becomes a reality, which institution will warehouse the foreign reserves?
Foreign exchange reserves have to be held in a strongly rated institution because they are important assets of a country. So, AfDB can hold those reserves likewise the Afreximbank. In my view, these are the two institutions that can hold such a reserve.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
Three years ago, Anthony, then 11, showed signs of stunted growth as observed by African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina during a visit to Madagascar’s Bas Mangoky region. To the Bank chief, the boy looked no more than 5 years of age.
“I was transfixed by one of the children attracted by my helicopter landing. He was so small that I was convinced he could be no more than 5 years old,” recalls President Adesina.
“I asked him his name and he told me it was Anthony. But his voice was not that of a 5-year-old child. I was shocked to discover that he was 11. He was suffering from severe malnutrition.”
This was on 2 August 2016 and the story could have ended there. President Adesina could have continued his tour of the region, where rice production had tripled, from two to six tonnes per hectare, thanks to the decisive intervention of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank. He could have continued his rounds, proud of the Fund’s intervention, which had enabled the region to record a 141% increase in its agricultural income.
This, however, would have gone against his convictions and his personal efforts to help curb malnutrition. “Anthony said his dream was to become a doctor,” he recalls, visibly moved when he reunited with Anthony this week on the sidelines of the ADF-15 replenishment meeting in Antananarivo. The President of the African Development Bank thus decided, in agreement with his wife, to adopt Anthony and provide him with the means to live a dignified life, alongside his family, in his home environment.
And even then, Anthony’s incredible story did not end there. “I saw him again, the day before yesterday. Our son, Anthony, is growing normally. He is fine and well-fed,” Adesina says. “He is doing well in school and is one of the best in his class. I really hope that one day he will achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.” Barely half the height of his adoptive father in 2016, Anthony now seems well on track to overtake him.
Senior representatives of ADF donors are currently meeting in Madagascar to discuss the 15th Replenishment of the Fund. ADF has invested some $48 billion in low-income African countries.
For President Adesina, Anthony’s story is one of hope. Just like this young Malagasy boy, the continent can overcome its weaknesses. “Fragility is not inevitable. It can be overcome,” Adesina said in his opening speech at the second consultative meeting of the replenishment of the Fund.
“We believe in Africa! We believe in a prosperous future. We believe in its destiny!” he declared.
“The African Development Fund can continue to create hope among the least developed populations, offer opportunities to those who have nothing, and restore pride and determination,” he said, calling on donor countries to maintain their strong commitment to the continent.
President Adesina cited Cote d’Ivoire as one of the numerous success stories of ADF’s intervention.
“Côte d’Ivoire’s GDP plummeted following the political, economic and social turbulence it suffered a few years back. Thanks to the timely and decisive action of the African Development Fund, this country now has one of the most impressive growth rates in Africa, even the world.”
Just like Anthony, who is now racing ahead of the other pupils in his class.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
