Paradise News

Category: Feature

  • Russia right to engage with Hamas

    By Uriel Araujo

    Russian national “outside the list” released from Hamas a diplomatic win for Moscow

    On November 26, 2023, Ron Olegovich Krivoy, a Russian national held as a hostage by Hamas was released, together with fourteen Israeli, and three Thai nationals. The latter were set free as part of an Iranian-Thai agreement. All of them were handed to the Red Cross. Krivoy’s release, reportedly a sign of good will towards Russia, is remarkable and can be described as a diplomatic achievement by the Kremlin because the 25-year-old was not part of the list Hamas had agreed with Israel.
    Krivoy was working as a sound engineer at a rave music festival in the Israeli kibbutz Reim, wich was attacked by the Palestinian political movement. Such an attack was part of the so-called  Al-Aqsa Flood Operation launched by the military wing of the movement, which subjected Israel to an unprecedented series of rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip. The action, which was internationally condemned, resulted in the death of over a thousand people, including military and civilian, although numbers and responsibility are still being disputed.
    In response, Israel launched its Operation Iron Sword, and started conducting air strikes, targeting also civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, hospitals etc. This was also unprecedented in scale and Israel’s ongoing military campaign is facing global criticism and even being denounced as an attempt at ethnic cleansing or genocide, as Tel Aviv announced a full blockade of Gaza, which stopped supplies of food, water, medical items, and energy. The death toll so far has exceed 14 thousand people, with over 36 thousand injured.
    Over 240 hostages were captured by the Islamic group on October 7, and started being freed after a Qatar-brokered agreement struck between Israel and Hamas, the first large-scale deal since October 7. It involved exchanging hostages and detainees held by both the Jewish state and Hamas, and it resulted in a four-day truce starting on November 24. The truce is to continue as long as the Palestinian organization keeps releasing ten hostages daily and around a hundred have been set free thus far. However, Israel has just announced it has resumed its combat operations in Gaza allegedly because Hamas failed to provide a list of hostages’ names demanded by Tel Aviv for extending the cease-fire. The consequences of this remain to be seen.
    Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for decades since the 1947 UN resolution determined the creation of both a Jewish and a Palestinian state. Only after the 1993 Oslo I Accord between Israel and the Palestinian Authority did the two actors conditionally recognize each other’s right to exercise government in specific parts of the Holy Land (as the region is often called by Jews, Christians, and Muslims). However, Israeli History and Geography text books routinely treat “Jewish control and the Palestinian’s inferior position as almost natural and self-evident”, according to a 2020 study by Avner Ben-Amos, a Tel Aviv University professor.

    The State of Palestine however faces internal divisions, with Gaza today also being a disputed area in an ongoing intra-Palestine conflict between the Islamic group Hamas and the secular Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority. The former exercises de facto administration in Gaza while the latter controls the West Bank.

    Israel routinely compares Hamas to the terrorist group ISIS, also known as Daesh or Islamic State. However upon engaging in negotiations with the combatant group, it has implicitly recognized it as a legitimate political actor. Moscow has been heavily criticized for engaging with Hamas, especially after October 7, however the recent developments have shown that this approach is rational and fruitful.

    The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed the “good will gesture” by Hamas leaders pertaining to the release of a Russian hostage in a very positive way. It was announced by Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official representative, on November 27, who said: “We would like to draw your attention to the fact that our compatriot was given the opportunity to return home without being bound by the fulfillment of the conditions agreed upon through the mediation of Qatar between Israel and Hamas for the exchange of some of the women and children hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.” Zakharova confirmed that this humanitarian outcome happened solely thanks to Russian diplomacy without Qatar’s mediation. Moscow in any case notified Tel Aviv about such an operation and signaled its readiness to pursue similar work in the future.

    Diplomacy today is an incredibly complex business. Far from consisting in relations, agreements and dialogue between nation-states solely, it increasingly involves dealing with non-state or quasi-state actors as well as others whose status might be ambiguous or disputed such as de facto governments, rebel groups, unrecognized or partly-recognized states, and so on. In addition, religious institutions plus non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Red Cross play a very important role in mediating conflicts.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken, echoing many other voices, the stance that the so-called “two-state” formula, approved by the UN Security Council, would be a viable solution for the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So far Israeli-Russian pragmatic good relations have endured. It remains to be seen how the escalation in Gaza will affect this complex relationship.

    Uriel Araujo is a journalist, researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts.

  • The Middle East as a “Powder Keg”

    By Vladislav Sotirovic

    The focal feature of both the history and the politics of the region of the Middle East in the Modern and Contemporary Age (during the last 250 years) is the constant conflicts between different internal and external conflicts. Therefore, probably, the term “powder keg” best describes this region (the Balkans as well) for the very reason that for a long period, the Middle East was and is involved in different larger or smaller forms of conflicts, struggles, and wars. However, as in many other global cases, the roots of modern and contemporary problems are largely sown in the past, and, consequently, current political events have to be taken within a larger historical background. The autochthonous people have been all the time on the crossroads of different civilizations and political-cultural influences from abroad and, therefore, their crossroad position was the battleground for foreign invaders even from West Europe in the Middle Ages (the Crusaders).

    The biggest part of the Middle East from the first half of the 16th century until the second half of the 19th century was under the domination of the Ottoman Empire. Since the second half of the 19th century West European states (France, UK, and Italy) started gradually to introduce their political, military, and economic-financial control over the region. After WWI, West European colonialists received formal protection rights in the Middle East in the form of mandates (French and British) with an increased influx of Euro-Jewish settlers in Palestine. Several new national states were created after 1918, dividing the land not respecting tribal differences or Western (British) promises made to Arabs for their support in 1916−1918 which finally resulted in unfixed problems since today.

    The proclamation of an independent state of Zionist Israel on May 14th, 1948 only more fueled the political situation in the Middle East and provoked a harsh Arab reaction, leading to three major Arab-Israeli wars and several minors. This conflict is one of the longest in modern history as those two Semitic peoples – the (Muslim) Arabs and the (Zionist) Jews – are struggling for their bilateral peaceful coexistence of 60+ (or even 100 since the 1920s). Since the end of the Cold War 1.0, there were two US and Allied invasions in the region inspired by the Iraqi-Kuwait conflict which led to the First Gulf War in 1990−1991 followed by the UN sanctions. In the next century, the USA and its allies (primarily the Brits) started the Second Gulf War in 2003 by the aggression on Iraq, supposedly searching for the WMD bringing together with the invasion of Afghanistan an additional geopolitical mass in the Middle East.

    In the region, there were conflicts between the states like the Iran-Iraqi War in the 1980s (anyway inspired by the US) or the conflicts (in fact, civil wars) within certain states in which, for instance, the Islamic fundamentalists or/and extremists challenged the official governments (Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Somalia, or predictably in Iraq in the near future). The next type of conflict is those which occurred for the reason that some local organizations or groups, usually with foreign assistance, opposed the occupiers like in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Kuwait, or Afghanistan. In the current stage of the regional conflicts in the Middle East, the focal hope for the regional people is that the struggle between Zionist Israel and its Muslim neighbors will be soon over by peaceful negotiations, conflict resolution, and economic development like it finally happened, for instance, with the Kingdom of Jordan and Egypt (today, Bahrein and the UAE recognized Israel too).

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    Nevertheless, we have to be even more concerned regarding the clash of civilizations (predicted by S. P. Huntington in 1993) in the region founded, in fact, on incompatible cultural differences. Probably, the most serious cultural clash in the Middle East is that of the Western-type of globalization and style of life that is fueled by interaction with oil-buyer external (Western) powers but which is in opposition with traditional Middle Eastern/Islamic values and life philosophy. In dealing with such questions, several focal points and facts had to be stressed as remarkable features of Arab-Islamic Middle Eastern culture:

    1. Muslim religion in this region historically, in principle, was showing tolerance for other faiths.
    2. There are many Muslims (both Arabs and not) who are supporting the faster process of democratic reforms in the region and fighting against unequal distribution of wealth within their states, especially oil states.
    3. The majority of the regional inhabitants do not support violent Islamic radicalism/fundamentalism and especially its call for military jihad for the sake of changing the existing political structure and promoting their worldview.
    4. Western civilization is extremely indebted to Arabs for their translations during the Middle Ages of crucial Hellenistic knowledge and tradition but above all in science and medicine.
    5. Islamic intellectuals and academicians are not, in principle, against the West but they really fear Western political power and influence in their societies, especially regarding materialism and cultural colonialism.
    6. Historically, a bilateral enriching coexistence between Muslims and Westerners is more the rule but not some exception.
    7. As a matter of fact, more than half of 1,6 billion Muslims in the world are not Arabs, most Muslims are not fundamentalists, and the majority of the Middle Eastern Muslims (including Iran and excluding Turkey) are Arabs.
    8. Muslims in the region of the Middle East are not dogmatically homogeneous as they are divided among themselves mainly in two focal branches: Sunni and Shia communities.
    9. Economic factors mainly behind their control are pushing the Middle East into the globalized marketplace.
    10. The contemporary Middle East is a region of substantial social, political, cultural, and economic transition.

    Nevertheless, the Middle East attracted full global attention after 9/11 2001 due to the terror acts in New York and Washington committed by the regional Islamic radical organization – al-Queda when their members led by Saudi wealthy Osama bin Laden crashed three hijacked airliners into NYC WTC and Washington, D.C.’s Pentagon buildings killing over 3000 people. It is extremely important to notice that after 9/11, 56 Muslim states immediately condemned the terror act as something that is in opposition to the Islamic values, teachings, way of life, and Qur’an. However, this terror act generated an American global war against (Islamic) terrorism, accompanied by Western invasions, occupations, and mass-killings of the civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq which in many eyes of the Muslims is seen as a modern type of anti-Islamic crusades.

    The question is what might prompt Middle Eastern individuals, especially youngsters, to commit any type of terror act? Surely, behind such act is a deeper process of radicalization of the Arab Islamic youth by Islamic fundamentalists and extremists but on the other hand, there are many members of the younger Arab generation, including Arabs who studied in the West, who has a sense of being oppressed and humiliated by Westerners or just intentionally provoked by, for instance, French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Some of these disillusioned youngsters are recruited into militant networks.

    About the Author

    Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic is an Ex-University Professor and Research Fellow at Centre for Geostrategic Studies, Belgrade, Serbia. Website: www.geostrategy.rs. Email: sotirovic1967@gmail.com. ©Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2023.

    Personal disclaimer: The author writes for this publication in a private capacity which is unrepresentative of anyone or any organization except for his own personal views. Nothing written by the author should ever be conflated with the editorial views or official positions of any other media outlet or institution.

  • Follow Science: Except for Sex and Gender

    By Brian C. Joondeph, M.D.

    Throughout the real-life science fiction movie called COVID, we have been told to “follow the science.”

    The face of COVID, Dr. Anthony Fauci, condescendingly proclaimed, “I am the science.” It comes to light now that most of his assertions turned out to be incorrect.

    Gender and sex are the latest battlefront in the realm of “science,” and this, too, is turning out to defy actual science and common sense. But as both COVID and gender are now political and advocacy issues rather than the science once taught in biology class, we are no longer following science and instead engaging in magical thinking.

    What’s the difference between sex and gender? Once upon a time they were interchangeable terms. But that changed. Did the science change or did these terms become politically charged?

    The word ‘sex’ has other connotations, so it was an easy transition from sex to gender as the latter had no acts associated with the word. Yale School of Medicine summed it up the “new science” well, “What do we mean by sex and gender? Aren’t these terms interchangeable? Perhaps at some point in time they were used as synonyms, but this is no longer true in science.”

    How did the science change? In the past, one could pull down one’s pants and observe both sex and gender with a quick downward glance, just as the obstetrician does when announcing at the moment of birth, “It’s a boy!”

    The new science goes like this, “The term sex should be used as a classification, generally as male or female, according to the reproductive organs.” While “The term gender should be used to refer to a person’s self-representation as male or female, or how that person is responded to by social institutions on the basis of the individual’s gender presentation.”

    In other words, sex is science and gender is magical thinking.

    Can this thought process be applied to species? Can a dog identify as a cat or vice versa? There are humans who identify as animals, for example “furries”. There are rumors of schools providing litter boxes for students identifying as cats. Apparently, this is just a rumor, but not long-ago males competing against female athletes was also viewed as a far-fetched rumor, and here we are.

    This all might be considered frivolous but when it comes to medicine, the stakes are exponentially more significant.

    As recently reported by The Telegraph, “Endometriosis is not a gynaecological condition, the founder of a charity supporting women with the disease has suggested, after appointing a transgender woman as its chief executive.”

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    Let’s break that down. The Cleveland Clinic describes a gynecologist as, “A physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases of the female reproductive system.” No politically incorrect mention of “women.”

    Notice how they cleverly avoid the obvious, that gynecologists care for women. The Merriam-Webster dictionary is less woke and defines gynecology in a clearer manner, “A branch of medicine that deals with the diseases and routine physical care of the reproductive system of women.”

    Years ago when I was in medical school at Northwestern, my obstetrics/gynecology rotation was at the Prentice Women’s Hospital. Not the “Prentice Female Hospital.” And not as Merriam-Webster dictionary would name it as, “Prentice ‘sex that typically has the capacity to bear young or produce eggs’ Hospital.” What a mouthful. Imagine putting that on a sign or brochure. Has the science changed that much in a few decades?

    What is endometriosis? Let’s ask Mayo Clinic,

    “Endometriosis is an often-painful condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It often affects the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis. Rarely, endometriosis growths may be found beyond the area where pelvic organs are located.”

    Notice the mention of female reproductive organs, even though they studiously avoid mentioning the word ‘female,’ which according to the Cleveland Clinic, falls under the care of a gynecologist. This is not complicated. By logic, endometriosis falls under the province of gynecology, despite what the new CEO of Endometriosis South Coast asserts.

    The science is clear that endometriosis is a disorder of women and that gynecologists, who by definition treat women, manage this disorder. Using pretzel logic to avoid explicitly stating the obvious is not good science.

    Sure, endometriosis can rarely occur in men, with 20 cases reported. This would be due to an overabundance of estrogen, usually from hormone therapy to treat prostate cancer. But that’s the rare exception.

    Medicine always has rare exceptions, but we practice based on likelihoods. When you hear hoofbeats, at least in America, it’s likely a horse, not a zebra. Citing the odd exception is not an excuse for turning science on its head.

    Why is such precision important in medicine? Because many conditions or diseases are exclusive to men or women, but not both. The most common example is pregnancy.

    If a woman of childbearing age presents to the emergency room with cramping abdominal pain, a pregnancy test is at the top of the list of diagnostics. A man of the same age presenting to the ER with similar pain would not be given a pregnancy test.

    But if one sex or gender identifies as the other, then what? Particularly if they have had gender reassignment surgery and their true gender is not readily apparent. What if the patient is unconscious or in too much pain to provide a detailed history? Misdiagnosis in this situation can be fatal.

    Prostate cancer is another example as a prostate gland is only present in men, regardless of gender identity or preference. For the sticklers out there, women can “sort of” get prostate cancer, not in the prostate but in the Skene’s glands which are similar to the prostate. But like endometriosis in men, Skene gland cancer in women is also extremely rare. Or as we would call it, “a zebra.”

    But prostate cancer in trans women is a hot topic of research. A paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association discusses prostate cancer in transgender women. The “science” says that trans women are still biological men, and even if they have had gender reassignment surgery, still have a prostate gland.

    This was a study of patients in the Veterans Affairs Health System. Apparently, such research is more important in finding out why there are so many homeless veterans in the US and fixing the problem. Or why, according to the CDC, “71% of young people in the United States would not be able to join the military if they wanted to” due to health issues and obesity.

    As China grows its military, you can be sure they are watching the priorities of the American defense system.

    Instead, the emphasis should be on the obvious, that men who identify as women are still men and still at risk for prostate cancer. Just like women who identify as men, are still women who can get endometriosis. Is there more important medical research to be performed than this?

    Today “the science” is playing word games to disguise the obvious. Why isn’t the medical establishment figuring out why life expectancy in the US has dropped two years in a row, with COVID far in the rear view mirror.

    Or why all of a sudden we are seeing headlines like this, “Doctors seeing increase of heart attacks in young people”? Along with myriad young healthy individuals dying suddenly.

    This is the science that affects individuals, families, and society, not whether endometriosis is a gynecological condition. The medical community has obfuscated and spewed misinformation throughout the COVID pandemic, seriously damaging its credibility.

    How about a course reset, trying to “follow the science” for a change. And start with sex and gender.

    About the articles Author: Brian C. Joondeph, is a physician and a writer. Follow him on Twitter @retinaldoctor, Substack Dr. Brian’s Substack, Truth Social @BrianJoondeph, and LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph.

    Credit: TLB
  • Nagorno-Karabakh separatist Republic ceases to exist

    Nagorno-Karabakh separatist Republic ceases to exist

    By Lucas Leiroz

    The history of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) appears to be coming to an end. After the humiliation suffered by the local people with yet another military defeat by Azerbaijani troops, the local government opted for the dissolution of the secessionist state, dissolving public institutions and handing over the local territory to Azerbaijani forces.

    On September 28, Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan issued a decree to end the state’s existence by January. In an official statement it was literally said that “the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) ceases to exist”. Regarding the local people, it is said that ethnic Armenian citizens must “familiarize themselves with the conditions of reintegration offered by the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

    The measure was taken “in connection with the current difficult military-political situation” and aims to save the lives of local citizens amid the growing process of ethnic cleansing promoted by Azerbaijani troops. To cease hostilities once and for all and guarantee conditions of coexistence between Armenians and Azeris, the authorities decided to give up political separatism, concluding a definitive process of capitulation.

    As a region with an ethnic Armenian majority within the Azerbaijani territory, since 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh has struggled for international recognition. Seen by the global community as part of Azerbaijan, the Republic has only been officially recognized by other similarly separatist governments. However, relations with Armenia have guaranteed some level of stability for the region over the decades, avoiding direct conflicts with Baku.

    This situation began to change radically in 2018, when Armenia experienced a pro-Western color revolution. The result of the local regime change was the rise of the current prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, whose policies focused on reducing ties with Russia and moving closer to Western powers. With Moscow being the side most interested in maintaining peace in the Caucasus, the worsening of relations between both countries could have no other end than catastrophe.

    In 2020, Armenia/Artsakh and Azerbaijan had a new military confrontation in which the Armenian forces were defeated, and there has been a strong regional security crisis since then. Victorious in the war, Baku increased its anti-Armenian policies several times in the following years, including by imposing a blockade on humanitarian aid to Artsakh between 2022 and 2023.

    The deterioration of local security reached an extreme point when earlier in September the Azerbaijani government ordered the start of an “anti-terrorist operation” with the alleged aim of neutralizing Armenian military facilities in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The strikes killed dozens of ethnic Armenian civilians, but even so Yerevan cowardly refused to protect its people, claiming to have no troops in Artsakh and demanding military action against Baku from Russian peacekeepers.

    Since 2020, Moscow has maintained peacekeepers in Artsakh under the terms of the trilateral agreement that ended hostilities that year. These troops, however, are few in number and their work is focused on peaceful and non-violent operations, such as rescue, demining and humanitarian aid. The Russians are not allowed to act militarily against either side in the conflict, which is why Pashinyan’s claims that it would be “Russian responsibility” to prevent the Baku operation are absolutely unfounded.

    The Armenian government also requested Western help but did not receive any security guarantee – which was already expected, since the best scenario for Western interests is precisely chaos in the Caucasus. So, without any international support, the defense forces of Nagorno-Karabakh became absolutely incapable of protecting their claimed territory, leaving no option other than military and political capitulation.

    Obviously, the decision to end the existence of the Republic was not accepted by all local politicians and separatist activists. For example, Artak Beglaryan, a former state minister and human rights ombudsman of Artsakh, said in social media: “Artsakh President’s decree on dissolving the Republic is illegal & illegitimate: 1. No President has the power to dissolve the Republic formed by the people with referendum; 2. That decree was signed as a result of Azerbaijani harsh aggression & threat of force. It’s null & void.”

    From a legal point of view, this type of argument can be valid. Obviously, it is not a president’s right to dissolve an entire state by decree. But the particular case of Artsakh must be analyzed carefully, as it is a non-recognized separatist republic, and therefore does not have a conventional legal state structure.

    Furthermore, even if “invalid”, Shahramanyan’s decision only admits the reality of Artsakh’s current situation. The Azeris already control the territory and if there is resistance on the part of the Armenians there will be greater chances of hostilities escalating. So, in practice, the government’s decision works as a conciliatory attempt to peacefully reintegrate the Armenian people into Azerbaijan and stop ethnic cleansing by Baku.

    The problem is that this is unlikely to work in long term. Azerbaijan is a Turkish proxy and Ankara has expansionist interests in the Caucasus that will not be limited to the retaking of Nagorno-Karabakh. Indeed, there is a great possibility of Baku carrying out raids against Armenia’s undisputed territory in the future.

    NATO’s objective is to place as many troops as possible close to the Russian border, which is why a Turkish incursion against Armenia would be “useful” for the West as it could “legitimize” the sending of forces under the excuse of “peacekeeping” – resulting in practice in the mere division of the Caucasus between Turkish and Western NATO forces. Only a responsible policy of friendship and military cooperation with Moscow will be able to avoid this.

    Lucas Leiroz is journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

  • Use Your Penis: Hopes, Expectations and Realities of African Migrants in Europe

    Use Your Penis: Hopes, Expectations and Realities of African Migrants in Europe

    By Leo Igwe

    The issue of migration to Europe has been in the news. There has been intense discussion on how to tackle the flow of migrants to, not from, Europe. There have been reports of boats carrying migrants capsizing or missing on the Mediterranean Sea.

    Many Africans have died trying to enter Europe via the Sahara desert. North African and European countries have taken measures to curb illegal migration and human trafficking. Still, the migration flow out of Africa continues and shows no signs of abating. Why has the migration of Africans or migration from Africa become such a huge problem? What are the hopes, experiences and realities of these migrants?

    In August I was invited to speak at a seminar on migration. The focus was on the migration of Africans to Europe. The event took place in Bergen, Norway. As a doctoral student, I lived in Germany for six years. I was invited to speak at programs on migration. Governmental and nongovernmental agencies in Denmark and Germany organized the events. I did not find these events interesting because the focus was on human trafficking and the role of African juju and witchcraft. Do not get me wrong.

    Human trafficking is a huge problem and needs to be addressed. But we have to tackle the problem from the root. These events were by my estimate a complete waste of time and money because organizers and participants were not ready to tell themselves the truth, face the facts and address the real issue. They want to make themselves feel good and privileged while talking about these helpless Africans streaming to their shores. Organizers were more interested in marginal voodoo, and oath-taking issues.

    They made it seem as if there was something unusual about African migration. But there was not. Migration is as old as human beings. Humans from all races and regions have been migrating from one region to another, from one country or continent to another. Before this recent wave of migration out of Africa, people from Europe, America, and Asia have been migrating to Africa. They are still migrating for business, social, economic, religious, and political reasons.

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    Contemporary African migration is mainly economic. It is driven by poverty, miserable living conditions, and the devastation of African economies by European, Asian, and American companies. To tackle the problem of migration, African economies must be fixed. The continent must realize an economic leap. Now instead of focusing on the economic roots of the problem and how to address them, many Europeans and Americans expend energy discussing trivialities, such as the role of voodoo and so-called powerful witch doctors in Nigeria. Well, at these events, I told the organizers the bitter truth. I told them to forget this juju or voodoo talk and face the reality: the destruction and revival of African economies. I told the organizers what they did not want to hear. And they never invited me back.

    But this time around it was different. The organizers were not Europeans or Americans. A Nigerian student at the University of Bergen staged the event. He contacted me some months ago, drawing my attention to the plight of African migrants in Norway. He explained how many who travel to Norway and other European countries had their hopes and expectations dashed.

    Many who migrate to this country or other European countries end up entrapped. They are compelled to go into things they did not plan to do. Many migrants end up in a new form of slavery, in a marriage to an European citizen. Left with the option of going back to Africa at the end of their study or marrying to get the documents to stay, many end up contracting a marriage, in many cases a paper or document marriage. These marriages entrap them, they turn these migrants into errand boys and girls. Many of them are mistreated. They suffer silently. If they misbehaved, their partners would threaten to report them to the authorities and get them deported. I was told that many in the African migrant communities were not helping matters.

    Someone told me that he approached some migrants seeking and wanting to know how he could navigate migration issues. But the person told him: “Use your penis”. I guess for a female it would have been a case of: Use your vagina. While studying in Germany, some African migrants told me how they were sexually exploited, and dehumanized before they could get legal documents to stay in the country. One woman told me that everyman who wanted to help her wanted to sleep with her.

    So, the program was cathartic. It provided a space to let out these pains, sufferings, disappointments, and frustrations. The event brought together ‘free-will’ migrants and Norwegians. The panelists were from Ghana, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Belarus. I was the only international guest on the panel. Other panelists discussed the hurdles that they have faced, and the challenges that they confronted trying to live and integrate in Norway. As one panelist noted, many who come to study were unable to find a job at the end of their program.

    In many cases, they graduated and found out that there was no job for them, or they were unable to speak the local language, which was a requirement for many jobs. Another panelist from Ghana, married to a Norwegian, discussed her challenges as a migrant parent in Norway. She recounted how her child had suffered racism in the school. She narrated an experience where the child did a group assignment with four other white Norwegian children. And the teacher gave her child four marks for the assignment and other group members five marks.

    There was some discussion on illegal migration and the risks involved. Some Norwegians in the audience noted that many African migrants knew about the risks they could face migrating to Europe. And still, they decided to embark on the risky journey. There was a lot of focus on migrants and their experiences traveling from Africa.

    However, little or no attention was paid to the European connection with the problem, the fact that western foreign economic policies have devastating effects on African economies. Africa is a market for Western goods including Norwegian stockfish. Apparently Europe needs African markets not African migrants. Western multinationals are relentlessly plowing and plundering the resources of Africa in ways that have displaced the local populations. African professionals are leaving in droves. They are migrating to work in the West and the Middle East.

    So, Western economies profit from the migration flow and the cheap labor it provides. Western countries benefit from the economic status quo that has turned Africans into migrants and refugees in Europe and America. To contain the flow of migrants to Europe, the situation in Africa must change. African economies must begin to grow and improve. Western governments must end the economic exploitation of Africa.

    Leo Igwe directs the Advocacy for Alleged Witches.

  • 5 Fascinating Facts About Emeka Nwafor: The Okamgba Ndigbo 2023 Champion

    5 Fascinating Facts About Emeka Nwafor: The Okamgba Ndigbo 2023 Champion

    Emeka Nwafor emerged as the champion of Okamgba Ndigbo 2023, a prestigious traditional wrestling contest that celebrated both culture and athleticism. His journey to victory is filled with compelling stories and remarkable achievements. Here are five fascinating facts about Emeka Nwafor, the Okamgba Ndigbo 2023 champion:

    1. A Wrestling Prodigy from Anambra State

    Emeka Nwafor hails from Anambra State, Nigeria, a region known for its rich cultural heritage. It’s no surprise that he excelled in a sport deeply rooted in Igbo culture. Emeka’s journey into traditional wrestling began at a young age, making him a prodigy in the sport.

    2. Dedication and Hard Work

    Winning the Okamgba Ndigbo title wasn’t a stroke of luck for Emeka. He dedicated himself to the sport from the age of 13, and his journey was marked by relentless training, both physically and mentally. Emeka’s discipline and unwavering commitment were key factors in his success.

    3. First Attempt, Glorious Victory

    Akamgba 2023 was Emeka’s first attempt at traditional wrestling on such a grand stage. Despite being a newcomer to the Okamgba contest, he managed to outshine experienced competitors from different states. His remarkable debut speaks volumes about his natural talent and determination.

    4. A Businessman and an Athlete

    Emeka Nwafor isn’t just a wrestling champion; he’s also a businessman in Anambra State. Balancing the demands of entrepreneurship and rigorous wrestling training is a testament to his exceptional work ethic and time management skills. His dedication to both his business and his sport is truly admirable.

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    5. Motivated to Inspire Others

    Emeka Nwafor sees his victory as an opportunity to inspire other aspiring traditional wrestlers. He believes in the potential of the sport to provide employment opportunities and recognition to talented athletes. Emeka is determined to motivate other wrestlers and push the boundaries of traditional sports in Nigeria.

    Afia TV’s Support: A Key to Emeka’s Journey

    Emeka Nwafor’s journey to becoming the Okamgba Ndigbo 2023 champion was made possible with the support of Afia Television (Afia TV). The channel’s sponsorship played a pivotal role in documenting his achievements and showcasing the vibrant culture of traditional wrestling to a global audience, enabling him to achieve recognition and success on a grand scale.

    Emeka Nwafor’s journey from a young wrestling enthusiast to the Okamgba Ndigbo 2023 champion is an inspiring story of dedication, hard work, and cultural pride. His victory not only represents personal success but also symbolises the growth and recognition of traditional sports in Nigeria, with Afia TV’s support playing a crucial role in this journey. Emeka Nwafor is a shining example of how passion, commitment, and talent can lead to extraordinary achievements.

  • Bahumonu, C’River communities where youths said no to war

    Bahumonu, C’River communities where youths said no to war

    By Christian Njoku

    In the 1980s Prof. Emmanuel Ayandele, the foremost Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar and a respected Professor of History declared that “Cross River was an atomistic society perpetually at war with itself” after observing some of the unending skirmishes that had bedevilled the state.

    Although Ayandele’s declaration did not go down well with some of the indigenes of the state, it was borne out of an intense observation from the astute academic.

    While many believed that the constant squabbles were as a result of the discord between the people of present-day Akwa Ibom and the remaining Cross River before they were separated in the old Cross River, time has shown otherwise.

    40 years after his declaration, situations in the state have made  Ayandele a somewhat prophet because internally, Cross River has had some communal crises that had spanned for decades and are still on despite efforts to resolve them.

    Some of these conflicts include the Nko, Inyima crisis; Nko, Mkpani Crisis; Ugep Ekori crisis; Agoi Ibami, Mkpani crisis; Nko, Agoi Ekpo crisis, Ugep, Idomi Crisis that was said to have been on since 1928 and many others in Yakurr LGA alone.

    In Obubura LGA, there is the Ofatura Ovunum crisis; Iyamitet, Ababane crisis; Iyamitet, Adun crisis; and Ofatura Apiapun crisis among others.

    There is also the crisis among Urugbam, Egbor, Ipene, and Abanwan communities in Baise LGA while in Abi LGA, the crisis between Ediba and Usumutong and Ebom and Ebijakara was on for over 15 years.

    14 out of the 18 LGAs in Cross River had either engaged or are currently involved in one crisis or the other not just within the state but also with communities of neighbouring states like Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Benue in the northern part of Cross River.

    The only LGAs that seem not entangled in the web of one communal crisis or the other are Calabar Municipality, Calabar South, Akpabuyo and Bakassi LGAs all in the Southern Senatorial District of the state, except for issues of cultism militancy.

    Among these wars, some of the most fascinating were those between Ediba, Usumutong and Ebom versus Ebijakara communities in the Bahumonu nation of Abi LGA, which lasted for over 15 years.

    The Bahumonu nation is a collection of nine autonomous communities with the same ancestry, Ediba, Usumutong, Ebom, Ebijakara, Anong, Afafayin, Abeugo, Egonigoni and Bazohure.

    With a large expanse of arable land, the Bahumonu nation boasts of agricultural produce such as rice, cassava, yams, groundnut and others in commercial quantity, which makes it an agricultural hub.

    Originating from a common ancestral land in Othumosa, the Bahumonu nation in Cross River is bordered on one side, across the river to the Ozizza community in Ebonyi state that depends heavily on its agricultural produce.

    It also borders communities in two LGAs that had at one time or the other been involved in brutal communal clashes that had cost lives and properties, Ugep in Yakurr LGA and Ijom in Biase LGA.

    However, in spite of its agricultural and fishing potential, a large part of the  Bahumonu nation is without electricity, motorable roads, telephone network and other amenities, no thanks to the war between Ediba, Usumutong and Ebom versus Ebijakara.

    The crisis in these communities became a full-blown war around 2005 after years of bottled-up disaffection and anger aggravated by rumour-mongering, distrust and mutual suspicions over ownership of lands located in the boundary areas among the communities.

    The carnage continued unabated for 15 years with Ebijakara totally dislodged from their land by the people of Ebom who subsequently started taking over Ebijakara’s land, even though, they themselves lived in fear of surprise attacks from the people of Ebijakara who relied on guerilla warfare to surprise their assailants.

    For Ediba and Usumutong, two communities that look equally matched in strength, there was massive destruction of lives and properties that could hardly be quantified in monetary terms.

    It was not until in 2020 when the youths who had been doing the fighting, maiming and dying with support from some of their elites who were mostly based outside the warring communities, decided to say enough of the killings and destructions.

    This miraculous decision was greeted with joy as the youths from the nine communities with tears of mixed feelings, following the 15 years of carnage against their brothers and their brazen audacity to say enough was enough, went round the communities hugging each other and saying nobody would persuade them to kill each other again.

    This homegrown approach by the youths hinged on dialogue, as a few of them started the process of talking to each other gradually until they got the buy-in of the youth leaders of the warring communities.

    This however was not without its challenges, following the allures of resources for weaponry sent in by elites most of whom were based outside the warring communities but the youths remained focused and steadfast in their peace-building process.

    That day, June 20 was officially declared a day of peace by the Bahumonu nation and has been celebrated annually since 2020 by the people in their ancestral land of Othumosa where Christians hold an inter-denominational service while traditional worshippers gather to consolidate the oath of peace, taking in 2020.

    Seeing this development, Sen. Ben Ayade, former governor of Cross River set up a reconciliation committee headed by Sen. Ndoma Egba with a view of consolidating peace, repositioning Bahumonu for growth and development and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product, (GDP) of the state.

    The committee quickly went to work and after laborious observations, mediations and dialogues with the people, came up with recommendations in 2021 which were agreed upon and signed by the nine communities.

    However, like most committee reports, these recommendations are still lying on a shelf awaiting implementation.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) visited the Bahumonu nation during its 2023 Peace Day celebration and observed that, although there was renewed hope from the people, there was also a snag; the much-awaited consolidation of peace and development was taking longer than expected.

    Traditional Rulers from the nine communities in Bahumonu in a
    meeting during the Peace Day Celebration

    After a meeting of the traditional rulers of the communities that ended in a deadlock on the day of the peace celebration, HRM, Ovai Solomon Edward, Paramount Ruler of Abi and Leader of Osumutong told NAN that they have not achieved their desired goal which was for the communities to live in peace.

    According to him, “What we have today as peace was the effort of our youths, without them, we would not have achieved anything but today, the youths are becoming tired because they have sustained peace for the past three years yet the elders are not agreeing.

    “As far as the peace process is concerned, we have not achieved much because Ebijakara people are still displaced and the boundary issue between Ediba and Usumutong has not been resolved.

    “The last administration in the state set up a mediation committee that came up with recommendations, if these recommendations are implemented, it will go a long way in reducing the palpable tension among the communities,” he maintained.

    On his part, the Traditional Ruler of Ediba, HRH Ovai Uvara  Anani said Ediba went to court and won the case over the disputed land twice and because of this, the Ediba people were superior in the ownership of the land in contention.

    He said the people of Usumutong have to negotiate with Ediba and not use force to enter into their land.

    “The government came to look into the matter and make peace through the Ndoma Egba-led committee but they refused to tell us the truth about the land; it is a new government now, if they are ready to come and give us the peace we will comply but I will not fight,” he noted.

    While the subtle bickering went on, NAN went into the communities and spoke to some residents who said all they wanted was infrastructural development.

    In Ebom, Mr Monday James said their roads were bad, they had no electricity and due to these challenges, selling off their agricultural produce had been difficult because of poor access.

    He said he was grateful to God that the fighting had ended and they could go to their farms but their communities needed more in terms of development.

    A section of the ring road that connects the nine communities in the Bahumonu nation

    Mrs Mary Okoro said the bad road into Bahumonu has affected her business badly as her farm produce were hardly sold out.

    “As a woman, I am also pained because our schools have no teachers, and the Primary Healthcare Centres lack basic amenities like water.

    “Electricity and manpower are totally out of the question because nobody wants to come here, we are in desperate need of government attention.

    However, I am happy that we are no longer fighting because the women and children suffered most in those days of war,” she noted.

    On his part, Mr Clement Omina, President, Bahumonu Sociocultural Group said they were able to form an elite committee of sons and daughters of Bahumonu who like the youths swore never to allow war to tear them apart again.

    Omina however added that, as good as that decision was, there were still critical issues such as resettling Ebijakara and finding an acceptable boundary between Ediba and Usumutong.

    “We are not happy with where we are today because after three years we decided to stop fighting, Ebijakara is not back in their homeland and there are still skirmishes between Ediba and Usumutong.

    “We have tried as a people to find our own solution because we know that peace that is homegrown will be more sustainable than whatever is forced on the people from outside.

    “But the problem is that as a people from a common ancestry, any decision we take, it is difficult for the other party to accept it if it does not favour them. This is why we need an external arbiter which is the government,” he stated.

    Traders preparing to move cassava from Ebom, one of the communities in Bahumonu, across the river to Ebonyi

    He said that for more than 15 years  Bahumonu nation was alienated from the government with the simple excuse that the place was not safe, adding that what of now that the killings have ended for three years?

    He emphasised that as a people, they had done the most difficult part which was dropping their arms, while appealing to the new government in the state to help ensure total peace and infrastructural development which was a low-hanging fruit for the government in its first 100 days.

    Corroborating the view of Bahumonu Sociocultural Group, Dr Earnest Eteng, Chairman of Bahumonu Peace and Development Union said the youths decided to adopt a homegrown approach because according to them, outsiders would not help them, so they had to help themselves.

    He maintained that they have been using the youths to uphold peace among the warring communities and engaging in dialogue to ensure its sustainability.

    “At this point, we need encouragement from the government, we need an implementation of the recommendations of the Ndoma-Egba-led committee which also highlights the infrastructural need of the Bahumonu nation.

    All efforts to meet some of the youth leaders of the communities that had managed to sustain peace in the communities were unsuccessful as they were said to be unhappy with the elders who were still finding it difficult to ensure total peace that would give way for development.

    Back in Calabar Mr Davies Etta, Member Representing Abi State Constituency in the Cross River House of Assembly said the committee set up by the former governor did a good job.

    While hoping that Gov. Bassey Otu would implement the recommendations of the committee for sustainable peace in the region, Etta called on the governor to remember the promises he made to the people of Abi during his campaigns.

    “The ring road project that connects the entire nine communities is a project which when executed will impact all the communities in the Bahumonu nation.

    “We are also looking at implementing programmes that will ensure the youths are given scholarships for those that have the capacity to go school while those with businesses are supported with funds.

    “If this is done, we will keep the youths busy while providing a conducive environment for government to come and work because we discovered that the chiefs, women and children don’t fight but the youths,” he said.

    He appealed to the warring communities that justice may not give them peace adding that absolute peace comes from the hearts of the people by negotiation and sacrifice.

    The war in the Bahumonu nation may have ended but like dying embers that could be sparked up again into a massive flame, crisis was still an option on their table, except conscious efforts at development are made to refocus the youths.

    The battle for land which is a very important resource to the people because of their agrarian nature will recede if infrastructures such as the ring road that connects the nine communities and electricity are provided.

    While this will shift the attention of the youths to other means of livelihood, it will reawaken the economic life of one of Cross River’s agrarian giants.

    Importantly, Gov Otu needs to pick the report and recommendations of the Ndoma-Egba Committee set up by former Gov Ayade off the shelf, get it dusted and implement the latter to forestall any relapse.

    Subsequently, it is important for the state government to be proactive in nipping any disagreement in the bud before it develops into a full-fledged war, the time to act is now. (NAN)

  • Skolombo: Calabar’s ticking time-bomb

    By Christian Njoku

    Calabar, Oct. 14, 2022 (NAN)
    Calabar which literally means “come and live and be at peace,” has always been a society of serenity, peaceful people who take life easy and a home of culture and tourism.

    Named one of the neatest cities in Nigeria, Calabar in the last 18 years has witnessed a rise in the number of visitors who come to catch a glimpse of the Calabar Carnival, Nigeria’s biggest street party.

    However, in the last few years, this once serene environment has become a shadow of itself with huge refuse dumps and the rise of Vulnerable Children in Street Situations popularly known as “skolombo” for the boys.

    “Skolombo” as they are popularly known in Calabar are boys from as young as 7 to as old as 21 years who live on the streets of Calabar, around Marian Road, Flour Mill, Cultural Centre and many other parts.

    These homeless and vulnerable boys seen scavenging in the city’s refuse bins in rags also beg, gesturing to passersby by touching their tummies and their mouths, showing that they are hungry and in need of food.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) went to some of the spots where these boys are found and spoke to some of them about how they ended up on the streets, their challenges and aspirations.

    Around Marian Road, one of them, Felix Henshaw, a 20-year-old young adult, with a terrible scar on one side of his face and a massive sore on the heel of his right foot said he has been on the streets for 12 years.

    Henshaw said he left home in 2010 after writing his Common Entrance Examination but could not proceed to any secondary school or learn a trade because his father had no money.

    “I scavenge for empty bottles and cartons that I sell to feed, that is how I got the wound on my leg, I stepped on a broken bottle in one of the refuse bins.

    “The wound has refused to heal because it has not been treated, for the fresh scar on my face, I was stabbed with a broken bottle by a rival group from the Bogobri area that comes to forcefully collect money from us and I resisted.

    “We are a small group here and I am their leader and try to protect them whenever we are threatened,” he said.

    Similarly David Etim a member of the group who is 19 said he started living on the streets 8 years ago when he and his elder brother were driven from their home by their mother on the accusation that they were wizards according to her church.

    “On the streets, my brother was hit by a vehicle and he died, since we have no one to help us we looked for somewhere dug the ground and buried him as we always did.

    “The street is a hard place to survive in, we have no food, wear rags, nowhere to take our bath and we still have rival groups that attack us with weapons to collect proceeds of our scavenging and begging from us, he noted.

    On his part Faith Sunday, a 13-year-old boy who begs on the premises of the Cultural Centre, said he had been living on the streets since 2018 after he was sent out of his aunt’s house for losing N500 given to him to keep.

    The boys who all stank as they spoke to NAN because they had not taken their baths for days said all they needed was a place to live, sleep and something to do like a job or a skill.

    The United Nations General Assembly in November 1989 adopted the convention on the rights of the child (CRC).

    In July 1990, the Organisation of African Union, (OAU), Assembly of Heads of States and Government adopted the African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC).

    The member states of OAU now African Union (AU) believed that the CRC did not adequately reflect sociocultural and economic realities peculiar to Africa and relevant in articulating the rights of the child.

    Nigeria in 2003 enacted the Child Right Act in drawing from the provisions of the CRC and ACRWC, this same law was domesticated in Cross River in 2009 as A Law to Protect the Rights of a Child and for Other Related Matters.

    However, despite these bogus international and local frameworks, the protection of children in the state has been totally ineffective or almost non-existent.

    In 2009, Mrs Obioma Imoke, wife of Sen. Liyel Imoke, the then governor of Cross River founded the Destiny’s Child Centre in Calabar to provide shelter for vulnerable children.

    The centre enrolled 201 children out of which 153 acquired formal education and 36 were trained in vocational skills.

    However, like most government interventions, it died as the tenure of that administration elapsed in 2015 and many of these children returned to the streets of Calabar.

    The response of the present administration of the state was the setting up of a security outfit comprising all the security agencies and code-named “Operation Skolombo” in 2015 to carry out punitive actions against these boys.

    While this enhanced society’s negative perception of these kids, it did not address the issue of how children who are God’s blessings became products of the streets and how they survive daily.

    Similarly, in 2018, the government of Cross River announced plans to rehabilitate over 1000 street children and established The Child Protection Commission.

    The agency visited locations where street children clustered and made promises but nothing came out of it afterwards.

    Mr James Ibor, Principal Counsel of Basic Right Counsel Initiative (BRCI) said as the challenge of Street Children in Vulnerable Situations grew, residents of Calabar blamed them for the growing insecurity in the city.

    Ibor said BRCI publicly condemned the accusations and recommended ways to solve the problem in Calabar and this gave birth to a pilot programme that was largely successful.

    He said for the first time, in 2018, BRCI in collaboration with The United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Cross River’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Welfare and others did a census of these children and discovered 317 of them.

    “50 of these children were successfully camped for three weeks during which, they were taught livelihood skills, we conducted family tracing, counselling and built a foster care network for those we could not reintegrate with their families.

    We also started advocacy against people and religious organisations whose actions were drivers of the menace but the pilot project, though largely successful, was discontinued because government institutions whose efforts BRCI ought to complement were poorly funded.

    Similarly, Mrs Victoria Emmah-Emmah, Executive Director of Neighborhood Carewell Foundation said they have been working with street children for the last 22 years with support from the American Embassy, Global Affairs Canada and others.

    Emmah-Emmah said they have the records of over 5,000 children they have supported in school because education was a key way of dealing with the issue of “skolombo” in the state.

    According to her, the lack of sincerity and will from the government was a major challenge as there were no available shelters and programmes for these boys to be effectively rehabilitated.

    Mr Ken Henshaw, Executive Director of We The People, an NGO in Cross River said the menace of “skolombo” started becoming a problem in Calabar around the year 2000 as religious houses which branded children as witches and wizards grew.

    He said even though it was criminal to brand any child a witch or wizard according to Cross River’s Child Right Law, implementation of this law was a problem.

    “In 2020, we published a detailed report of six months of investigation titled ‘Left to Die’ the story of Cross River’s street children, a 10 minutes documentary with the same title and launched a petition that got 3,800 signatures calling on the state government to take action based on the recommendations we gave.

    “But as I speak to you nothing has been done by the state government, the problem is getting worse, these children are growing on the streets, many of them who were kids five to seven years ago are now teenagers,” he said.

    He asserted that from the available data of 2018 out of over 300 street children discovered on the streets of Calabar only about 10 to 15 per cent are girls the rest are boys who scavenge for food like animals, are exposed to all sorts of drugs and even bury their dead colleagues.

    He added that if nothing was done, in the nearest future, not just crimes but violent crimes committed not out of hunger but anger will increase because that is the only thing the society has taught these boys.

    A few months ago, one of the popular street kids in Calabar, known as John was mobbed to death on the accusation of stealing, nobody including the police did anything about it because according to the residents of Calabar, these boys are criminals.

    As a society, we must stop and ask what happened to the “skolombos” of yesterday who were children and are now adults in relation to the increase of violent crimes in Calabar.

    Pretending that these boys don’t exist won’t solve the problem, the government needs to wake up to its responsibility of implementing the Child Right Law it domesticated in 2009 and positively empowering the already existing street children.

    While Civil Society Organisations and all well-meaning residents of Calabar should support in advocating for responsible parenting. The time to act is now.

    (NAN)

  • Christmas in the City of Calabar: Then and now

    By Ekubi Bassey

    Those who know Calabar and its serene ambience wouldn’t find this article strange especially before the advent of the Carnival Calabar more than a decade ago. Christmas was then a Christian festival that characterised visits, and roll call of many masquerades from those of children to the most celebrated ones like Ekpe and Ekpo. Amidst the Christmas decorations especially along highbrow areas like the Calabar Road, Nelson Mandela Road, Marian extension, Etta Agbo-Airport Road, IBB way and other similar axes.

    It was in 1995 during my second year at the university when one of my Geology papers was shifted to 27/12/95. It was not a welcomed development as we frowned and were practically indignant to the new scheme of arrangements but there was little we could do, for it was a rescheduled paper and in order not to disrupt the school calendar it was fixed at our own detriment.

    That means we wouldn’t travel to our various towns for Christmas especially my very self who has a special date with my mom. She must slaughter a cock and get me new sets of plates for the special menu specially made for Christmas. I always look forward to such moments but here I was, an exam spoiling my fun. What about the euphoria of uniting with my friends and pals? All these and more were to be dashed. But something tells me,I was going to have one of my memorable Christmases. Alas, it actually turned out that way.

    Suffice it to say, I had to relocate to my uncle Ikona’s apartment along the IBB way, very close to the UJ Esuene’s stadium. This sport happens to be the city centre of the Calabar metropolis for it is just a stone’s throw to the popular Eleven-Eleven (11-11) bus stop. So I was glued to all the scenic viewing of a whole lot of displays of Christmas outings of masquerades; just name them Tinkoriko, Nnabor, Ojornu, Ekom Nkurikut, Abang, Ekpe, Ekpo and many others. It was a carnival of sorts and having expended much time on the cultural display that attended me I had to dress up to hit the town.

    To my admiration, the city was painted red as the sight was like heaven. Littered all around was celebration and the city stood still for the festive ovation. I made a few visits to my kinsmen at Edgerly and had an entirely different Christmas from the ones I used to know. This was how it was until Donald Duke’s administration introduced the Carnival Calabar.

    It became a different ball game, some liked it and some despised it. Well, in whatever way, the carnival of Christmas brought the city of Calabar to the global map of culture and tourism. Right there in our sight, we had myriads of our world celebrities come to dance and share in the joy of the carnival with such liberty and fun fare. Calabar then became the centre to meet all our screen idols and international superstars whom one couldn’t have met in a life’s time. Everyone creates happiness and all the contesting bands vie out for recognition. The display of different cultural paraphernalia, costumes parade of beautiful bevies and many other side attractions became the new normal as far as Christmas was concerned.

    But this year 2020 is an exception all these would be missed – no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Really the year would have so much to be remembered for. The Coronavirus year would actually go down as the year the Almighty Carnival Calabar ceased to be. Most of all we are blessed to have survived the era of global doom, let’s just clap for the Great God who wished it so.

    Merry Christmas to your fans, family and friends. See you on the other side of 2021.

     

  • Distinguished Senator John Owan Enoh at 54

    By Frank Ulom

    We’ve decided to refresh your minds on the unassuming, refined and modest personality of Distinguished Sen. John Owan Enoh as he turns 54 today, June 4th, 2020. The article below has in content, who Sen. John Owan Enoh is, What he has done, what he is doing and what he would do. Read and get refreshed;

    HIS EARLY YEARS

    Senator John Owan Enoh was born in the agrarian community of Agbokim Waterfalls, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State to the family of PA Louis Owan Enoh on Saturday, June 4, 1966.

    He attended St. Gregory’s Primary School, Agbokim Waterfalls (1972-1978), St. Augustine’s Seminary, Ezzangbo (1978-1983). Very early in life, Owan-Enoh began to demonstrate prodigious intellect, clarity of thought and uncommon eyes for details, endowments imbued in him by God Almighty that would later serve him well in life and would be pivotal to his meteoric rise to the pinnacle of success.

    After passing the West African School Certificate Examination with distinction, John Owan Enoh gained admission to study sociology in the faculty of Social Sciences, University of Calabar. As a student, he continued to blaze the trail of excellence in his studies. By 1988, when he graduated with a B. Sc. Hons. Degree in sociology (Second Class Upper Division), he won the best Graduating Student Award, Sociology Department in the Class of 1988. For his Compulsory National Youth Service, Senator John Owan Enoh served as an assistant to the Director-General, Government and Administration, Governor’s Office, Abeokuta, Ogun State between 1989 and 1990.

    The world of academia held great promise to Sen. John Owan Enoh. Those who knew him were unflattering in their assessment that he would flourish in the University environment. Given his academic prowess, Sen. Owan-Enoh had a strong motivation to venture into the world of academia.

    Between 1991-1997, he was admitted into the world of academia as a Lecturer, in the Sociology department of the University of Calabar. He applied his fecund intellect, unwavering passion and commitment to excellence to his work and began to shine like a million meteors.

    His dedication and commitment to his work left a lasting impression in the minds of his students who were enamoured by his cerebral mind and his power of delivery in the classroom.

    A young Lecturer with the temperament and maturity of a sage must as a necessity attract the attention of students. It was therefore easy for him to win the hearts and minds of his students.

    He became famous as the Lecturer who came to class without any book but regaled his students with his brilliance as he poured out knowledge off hand.

    Even as students began to address him in superlatives, he never allowed the cult status which they ascribed to him and which he never embraced get into his head.

    As one of the few Lecturers from Etung in the University, he came face to face with the deprivation and financial challenges of several of the students from his Local Government Area.

    He felt unrestrained compassion for them and was very receptive to the demands of these students and with the meagre salary of a university Lecturer, tried to solve some of their financial problems the much he could. Words of his generosity spread like wildfire and it was not long before he was confronted by a deluge of requests.

    His earnings as a university lecturer was meagre and stretched to the limit, leaving him fully aware of his obvious limitations and very determined to seek a pathway for the emancipation of his people.

    POLITICAL JOURNEY

    By 1997, when Late General Sani Abacha unveiled his political transition programme, he opted for politics. He contested and won election to represent Etung State Constituency in the Cross River State House Of Assembly under the platform of Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM). Thus, his remarkable political journey started.

    His aspiration embodied the dreams of many of his people who were conversant with his proclivity for hard work, generosity and support for worthy causes and compassion for bringing succour to those in need.

    The cancelation of the Sani Abacha Political Transition Programme following his demise proved to be a temporary setback to his political journey. In 1999, his mandate to serve his people was re-validated in a fresh election during which he won by a landslide this time under the platform of All peoples Party (APP).

    As a result of his love for his people and passion for selfless service, it was natural for him to make the people the focal point of his representation. Very early in his political life, the Peoples Senator who has risen to the summit of his legislative career, made a vow to himself and God Almighty to touch as many lives as possible and to empower his people to the best of his ability.

    Indeed the centrality of his people to his representation and politics informed his founding the Real Mark Foundation in 1999, a vehicle through which he strove to empower his people through critical interventions and a plethora of empowerment initiatives.

    Senator John Owan Enoh’s philosophy of service which places the highest premium on the primary of collective interest and the people as repositories of power is in tandem with Bill Gates vision on leadership. Bill Gates said: “As we look into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others”.

    Senator John Owan Enoh is a trail blazer, arguably the Chief proponent of empowerment as a tool to cure widespread poverty in our society. He may not have succeeded completely in stopping poverty in its tracks given the peculiar role of the legislature in our presidential democracy but he has continued to take decisive steps to prepare his constituents for the future by empowering them with a plethora of capacity building initiatives.

    In his legislative tour of duty, Real Mark Foundation assisted in the refurbishing of schools with hundreds of his constituents benefiting from his scholarship scheme. Between 1999-2003, Senator John Owan Enoh served as minority leader and Chairman, Committee on information, Cross River State House Of Assembly. He was outstanding and was one of the influential voices in the House, a fact which was not lost on the people.

    HIS LEGISLATIVE WORK, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (2003-2015)

    By 2003, the people of Etung and Obubra Local Government Areas sent Sen. John Owan Enoh an illustrious son in whom they were well pleased to the House of Representatives.

    Senator John Owan Enoh hit the ground running. In terms of legislative work, he was thorough, persuasive, unrelenting and in no time earned the respect of his colleagues. Between (2003-2005), he was Deputy Chairman, culture & tourism, Deputy Chairman Appropriation, (2005-2007), Chairman, Committee on Finance (2007-2011), Chairman, Committee on Appropriation (2011-2015). These were in addition to his membership of other standing committees of the House where he was very active, influential and respected. His time in the House Of Representatives has been variously described as the Golden Years in representation by his constituents who felt the direct impact of his legislative work. Within the period under review, Sen. John Owan Enoh influenced the employment of hundreds of his constituents into several Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies. They include, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Police, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Army, Petroleum Trust and Development Fund (PTDF), Federal Mortgage Bank, Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) amongst others. As the member representing Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency (2003-2015), Sen. John Owan Enoh rolled out education scholarship schemes which he envisioned to bring succour and financial assistance to bright students from deprived background in order to enable them successfully complete their education. The impact of this scheme is huge as thousands of students have benefited from this scholarship scheme. The vocational empowerment of his constituents is another area Sen. John Owan Enoh has also excelled. Designed to assist his constituents in diverse fields make success of their businesses, beneficiaries have received cars, motorcycles, sewing machines, barbing salon equipment, tiling machines, computer repair kits and start-up capital under the Senator Owan Enoh Vocational Empowerment Schemes. Also, several beneficiaries have received vocational training in diverse fields to empower and prepare them for a life in business.

    His years of representation in the House of Representatives can best be described as a golden Era as all the communities within his constituency felt the impact of his representation. He was able to attract so many projects with direct impact on the lives of his people. These include but not limited to sixteen motorized Boreholes, Comprehensive Cottage Hospital Okoroba, Comprehensive Cottage Hospital, Ovonom and a Cottage Hospital he personally built with his own resources and donated to his people, the Agbokim Waterfalls Community. Sen. Enoh also Facilitated the construction of National Youth Development Centre, Agbokim Waterfalls, the renovation of the residence of Head of Station, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN, the renovation of the Health Centre and office complex at the institute. Other projects include the construction of classroom blocks at Eja, Osopong 1, Bendeghe and Itaka. Within the same period, he also Facilitated the construction of six classroom block at Government Science School, Agbokim Waterfalls, VIP toilets at Itaka and Apiapum; construction of Divisional Police Headquarters, Effraya, State Security Service Office Block, Effraya, Ajassor International Market, Solar Powered Street Lights in Ohana, Onyadama, Ohana-Edor, Ogada 11, Ogurude, Iso Biko Biko, Nkum Okpambe, Yala, Mile 1, Obubra, Ofumbongha No. 1, Obira, Agbokim Waterfalls amongst others. He also attracted the construction of network of roads within Ababene and Agbokim Waterfalls.

    Senator John Owan Enoh’s work in the House of Representatives was monumental, epochal and a reference point in effective representation. Almost a decade before the present administration’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, Senator Owan Enoh as Chairman, House Committee on Finance began the campaign for ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government to domicile their funds in the Federation account instead of the widespread practice of agencies of government maintaining multiple accounts and spending generated revenues without appropriation.

    As Chairman, House Committee on budget and appropriation (2007-2011), the committee conducted an Investigative Hearing on Revenue Generation and Non-remitances by government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Statutory Corporations into the Federation account. Over two hundred and twenty MDAs forwarded memoranda and made oral submissions during the Public Investigative Hearing that lasted from June 19th to 16th December, 2008. One of the key findings of the Sen. John Owan Enoh led investigative hearing was the discovery that a whopping sum of 3.2 trillion was spent by government ministries, agencies and corporations without appropriation. Also, as a result of his ground-breaking work, over N400 billion was paid into the Federation account by the MDAs. This was in compliance with the far reaching recommendations of his committee.

    Under the leadership of Sen. John Owan Enoh, the House Committee on Budget and appropriation, organized a 2-day National Revenue Summit in collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service on 15th and 16th December, 2008 with the theme: Growing the National Revenue: A case for Revenue Remittance. Sen. John Owan Enoh remains a strong moral force in the National Assembly. By June 2012 when the House of Representatives removed Hon. Farouk Lawan as Chairman of Ad-hoc committee on Fuel Subsidy regime over the alleged $620,000 bribe, the House leadership relied on one of its most respected members for redemption. Sen. John Owan Enoh, the then Chairman, Committee on Appropriation was appointed to head the Adhoc Committee, a clear demonstration of the conference the House Leadership reposed on his character, competence and leadership. Senator John owan enoh is in all ramifications, a quintessential Lawmaker with a Midas touch. It is gratifying to note that the full impact of his vast experience in the public service especially as Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation was felt on the national stage. Prior to his tenure, our budget circles were bogged down by endless bickering and amendment of passed budgets before presidential assent. Suffice it to state that these avoidable confrontations impacted negatively on the national economy, Owan Enoh spearheaded the emergence of a new order marked by seamless passage and assent to the National budget. It is not for nothing that his name commands the respect of the vast majority of his colleagues in the National Assembly and his constituents who appreciate his selfless and effective representation. He epitomizes humility and runs a “door less” policy which has successfully removed the vestiges of high office for him to relate with his constituents unencumbered. By the end of his tour of duty in the House of Representatives, the love affair between him and his people waxed even stronger and crystallized into a compelling call for him to run for Senate, a position occupied by one of the illustrious sons the Central Senatorial District, Cross River State, Nigeria at that time. The calls for him to run for Senate by the people of the Central Senatorial District came in torrents and by the time it reached a crescendo, he had no alternative than to bow to the wishes of his people.

    SENATOR JOHN OWAN ENOH IN THE SENATE

    Senator John Owan Enoh’s Senate report card is no less impressive. Breaking with legislative tradition, the majority All Progressive Congress led Senate leadership appointed him as the chairman of the committee of Finance in 2015. In the words of the Senate President, His Excellency, Dr. Bukola Saraki, his appointment as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance was in recognition of his experience, knowledge, passion and commitment to the highest standard of legislative excellence. After an electoral landslide which brought him to the Senate, Senator Owan Enoh returned back to the people barely one month after his inauguration on a “Thank You Visit”, a move unprecedented in the annals of politics in the Central Senatorial District.

    Sen. Owan Enoh used the opportunity of his home coming to express his profound gratitude to his people for their continuing support. The visit took him to all the six local Govt. areas that make up the central senatorial district and ended up with a thanksgiving service. Determined to bring representation closer to his people, Enoh opened constituency offices in all the six local Government areas making up his senatorial district with full and functional staff.

    This unprecedented step, the first of its kind in contemporary politics underscored the special place his people occupy in his heart. He continues to emphasize humility in service and as his tenure in the senate got off to a flying start, he organized a one day retreat for his staff with the theme: “Supporting Owan Enoh to Deliver Service”. The retreat emphasized the need for his staff to imbibe the attributes of humility, accessibility, openness and selflessness as they relate with the people at the grassroots.

    As the chairman Senate Joint Committee which investigated allegations that system specs, a software solutions provider, charged 1 percent for transferring ₦2.5 trillion to TSA and in effect deducted billions of naira as commission. Sen. Enoh and the Joint Committee were unequivocal in rejecting the whopping commission. As a result of their work, the senate slashed the ₦7.6 billion accrued charges to system specs, commercial banks and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from transfers to Treasury Single Account (TSA) by govt. agencies to the sum of ₦656,504 million and ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to terminate the one percent charge which was subject of criticism by several well meaning citizens. As a reflection of the confidence of the senate leadership in his vast experience and capability, senator John Owan Enoh also chaired the Joint session of both the senate and the House of Representatives on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for the 2016, 2017, 2018, budgets.

    As senator representing the central senatorial district, his years in the senate bears the unmistakable imprimatur of a servant leader driven by a strong passion to deliver on a strong mandate upon which he rode the crest of power to the senate.

    Indeed, the blistering pace of his legislative work and achievements is unrelenting. At huge personal cost which underscores the high premium he places in education and capacity building of the youth, Sen. Enoh unveiled a comprehensive education support scheme in 2016 with 4,023 students drawn from his senatorial district as beneficiaries. This critical intervention alone continues to impact the lives of indigent students who would have had a difficult time completing their studies.

    Also, in 2016, Sen. Enoh spared no effort and resources to bring to Ikom,Muyiwa Afolabi, a motivational speaker to coach and mentor the youths on self-reliance. This event was under the auspices of “Central Youths Meet Sen. John Owan Enoh”,an annual programme which has endured with the support and guidance of Sen. Enoh. Afolabi, who delivered a paper titled: ‘Central Youths: Developing a Passion for Excellence’ in the serene ambience of Jorany Hotels, Ikom advised the youths to harness the transformative capacity of their talents to create a bright future. In 2017, Sen. Enoh tasked the youths on self-reliance. This time, he brought to Ikom, Leke Ojikutu, the Bulk SMS pioneer and Agba Jalingo, publisher of Cross River Watch, an online medium to address the youth during a one day summit.

    The theme of the summit: Tapping into the wealth of the Internet for Self Employment prepared the ground for a 3 week intensive training on ICT after which 66 youths drawn from the 66 wards of the central senatorial district were empowered with laptops. Senator John Owan Enoh is committed to legislative work as much as he is committed to peace making within his senatorial district.

    To this end, he embarked on several peace missions when communities within the senatorial district were involved in fierce clashes. He was on hand to arrest the situation when bloody clashes broke out between communities of Mkpani, Nko and Inyima in Yakurr Local Government area and Oyadama, Ababene and Iyamitet communities in Obubra Local Government area. He was also on hand to forestall further loss of lives and destruction of properties between Bendeghe Ekiem and Akparabong Communities. Apart from launching effective peace missions, Sen., Enoh provided relief materials running into millions of naira in the bid to assist the affected people rebuild their lives. He also sponsored a central senatorial district Security Summit to address the recurring communal clashes among the warring communities.

    In the areas of job creation, attraction of critical projects, capacity building, youth empowerment, effective representation and law making, he set a record that will be difficult to break let alone surpass. Some of the projects he attracted to communities across the senatorial district include twelve ongoing road projects,44 completed and commissioned solar powered boreholes, construction of culverts and drainages to stem the devastating impact of erosion, solar powered street lights and Bio-resources Development Centre, Effraya.

    When he turned 50 in 2016, he launched JOE Diabetes Foundation in a determined effort to arrest the scourge of diabetes among his constituents. Apart from several free medical outreaches embarked on by the foundation, it also flagged off several diabetes advocacy and sensitization campaigns in secondary schools across the senatorial district. In 2016, Sen. Enoh led a commemorative walk in Ikom as part of activities marking the 2016 World Diabetes Day.

    Worried by the poor state of Federal roads in Cross River State especially the Calabar-Ugep-Obubra Ikom-Ogoja road, Sen. Enoh made contacts at the highest level of the federal government to bring government attention to it.

    In this regard, he worked closely with Senator Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning and Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing to win budgetary allocation for the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction of the road. Two years into his tenure as senator, he organised a Town Hall Meeting at Ikom by August 2017 during which he presented a midterm report on his representation and achievements as senator.

    Apart from his impressive work at the committee level, Sen. Enoh has sponsored several bills and motions in the Senate between 2015 to date. The bills include: Emergency Power Bill, 2015, Foreign Exchange (Control and Monitoring) Bill, 2015, Payment Systems Management Bill, 2015, the Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2015, Law Officers Bill, 2016 and a Bill for the Establishment of Federal Polytechnic, Ikom. These bills are currently receiving legislative attention.

    He has attended several courses at home and abroad on capacity building in aid of his legislative work including a course in Public Financial Management, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University (Executive Education), Telecoms Regulatory Master Class – Bath UK , Law Making for the Communication Sectors – BMIT, Johannesburg, South Africa , and Influence and Negotiation, Stanford Graduate School of Business amongst others. Sen. Enoh is a fellow, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, CEPACS, University of Ibadan. He was also listed as one of Nigeria’s 50 most Outstanding Legislative Icons (1999 – 2010) in a definitive book published by Parlia Consult, a Consortium of Legislative Historians. He holds an Msc (Hons) Demography, Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), and MBA.

    Senator Owan Enoh is a voice of the voiceless, the weak and infirm, the disabled and a beacon of hope for his people. During the 2015, 2016, 2017 Christmas celebrations, he was at home with his constituents and as usual splashed gifts on them. His annual Christmas visits across the six local government areas of the senatorial district brings hope and smiles on the faces of his constituents and demonstrates the special place his people occupy in his heart.

    Sen. John Owan Enoh was voted Senator of the year 2016 in Cross River State in the first ever assessment of the Senate by the National Assembly based CSOs on profiling, Data-Bank Management and Leadership Assessment – Centre for Nigeria Leadership Perspective, CENLEP NASS. He is happily married to Rachel and the marriage is blessed with 3 children – Rachel, John and Victor.

    And there After:

    Sen. John Owan Enoh in 2019 decided to pursue an ambition to rescue Cross River State. An ambition which was described as “The Masse’s Ambition”. He emerged as the Gubernatorial Candidate of the All Progressives Congress but not without the distraction from a set of persons who feels disenchanted and refused to embraced peace. Amidst all distractions coming within his party, Sen. John Owan Enoh was the first and the only Governorship candidate that visited twice all 18 LGAs in Cross River State. Owan was generally acceptable and got overwhelming support, which became a threat to other candidates especially Sen. Prof. Benedict Ayade, the People’s Democratic Party Gubernatorial Candidate. A day to the elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC wrongfully delisted all candidates of the All Progressives Congress. This affected the outcome of the elections but Distinguished Sen. John Owan Enoh was still able to pull a reasonable amount of votes that would have put him ahead as winners, but the umpires announced the PDP candidate.

    Sen. John Owan Enoh after the elections, didn’t stopped being a good man that he is. He continues his unassuming gestures towards solving societal issues and meeting up with the needs of those who come around him. His service to Humanity didn’t end, even after leaving office as a Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    Within this period of political rest, Sen. John Owan Enoh has given several jobs to Cross Riverians in most of the Federal Government agencies like NNPC, FIRS, CBN, CUSTOMS, NDLEA and others, and has influenced a few appointments for Cross Riverians. He has also personally facilitated a few projects amongst which are;

    √ The ongoing Construction of 23kms Agbokim-Etomi road in Etung Local Government Area.

    √ The ongoing construction of 3kms Nkon bessong/Nkon Alor Road, in Biajua community and 1.3kms Efare road in Bashua community, all in Abu Ward, Boki LGA.

    √ The construction of 560Ms Enoghe old water board road, 1km Portharcourt road in Ikom Town, Ikom Urban Ward 1 and 2km Edor/Abinti road construction in Abinti 1, Abayong Ward, all in Ikom LGA.

    √ The ongoing Construction of 4.8kms Okangkekor road construction in Olulumo Ward, Ikom Local Government Area.

    √ SEN JOHN OWAN ENOH (JOE) Foundation Donates palliatives worth millions to Diabetics, items which included wheat, groundnut oil, salt, Rice, Maggi and other household items to members of the public who are diabetic.

    Distinguished Sen. John Owan Enoh was recently nominated and inaugurated to act as Secretary to the All Progressives Congress National Reconciliation Committee chaired by Chief Abdukareem Adebisi Bamdele Akande.

    Cross Riverians are in dire need of his services, even at this moment as seen in the media, almost every day. At 54, the future is still bright as we continue to hope for Better Days ahead for Cross River State.

    Happy birthday Distinguished Sen. John Owan Enoh. We celebrate with you as you turn 54 today. Congratulations boss.