Good news!!!! There’s a ‘Lagos Aids Walk’ coming up! I’m excited because i love activism especially when it is about health issues! And yes, I’m attending!
Obviously, the event will be about raising awareness about stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and to advocate for support for prevention, care and treatment programs. Sounds like fun…doesn’t it?
Well, the other reason I’m attending is because Kenneth Kaunda will be there as well. THE Kenneth Kaunda you read about in history books from Zambia…so exciting!!!!
If you wanna join in, you have to go to http://www.lagosaidswalk..org to register and then show up at the playing ground opposite LSPDC Estate, Ebute Metta at 9 a.m (21st April)
Governor Fashola, Tinubu, Funke Adeleke (Jenifa), Pastor Ituah Ighodalo and some other entertainers will be attending!
Remember we will be campaigning for ZERO INFECTIONS, ZERO DISCRIMINATION AND ZERO AIDS RELATED DEATHS!!!!!
I found this interesting and informative video on CNN about Africans (especially Nigerians) looking to make better lives in Guangzhou, China.
I find it very interesting that China has become a business destination for Africans, and we have watched China gain more and more economic power. What is China doing that Africa (as a whole) is not?African entrepreneurs in China
The drama between Nigeria and South Africa has been on for a few days now. I did not want to comment at first because thanks to my extremely busy schedule i did not have time to follow the news. Anyway, I am all caught up now.
This case is really interesting for me seeing as I studied International Relations and diplomatic tensions like this always made for good case studies when i was a student.
So here is the story: 125 Nigerians were reportedly deported from South Africa over the weekend reason being that they did not have yellow fever cards or possessed alleged fake yellow fever cards. The reason this is funny in my opinion is simple, Nigeria has no yellow fever epidemic and has not had since 1995 (or so). So, where does this ‘scare’ come from all of a sudden?
Nigeria retaliated by deporting 56 South Africans for ‘health reasons’ and ‘invalid documentation’. Ha!!! The government also warned that certain spirit of brotherhood would no longer be overlooked and this is no joke because they have made moves to review the status of South Africans presently residing in Nigeria. I smell a diplomatic row. Obviously South Africa’s actions were deemed as unfriendly, I heard someone say it was very childish for Nigeria to have retaliated. I say that is how international relations works…Interesting right?
well, according to the daily post, Nigeria has given the South African government 5 conditions they must meet in order to rekindle friendly ties. They are
– An apology to Nigeria over the ‘deportation saga’
– compensation for the victims
– disciplinary action against the South African officials who were cruel to Nigerians
– a review of the yellow fever vaccination policy and
– a reassurance that such would not repeat itself.
Do you think the South African government will cooperate?????
Would I be going to far if I said Jacob Zuma was only trying to punish Nigeria for the support the Nigerian government gave to the TNC during the Libya crisis?
I have the same routine on Sundays…My Sunday life pretty much consists of: Waking up earlier than usual (not a problem because I am a natural early bird), going to church, going back home and being lazy till the day ends.
Last Sunday was not different…well not until I got to church. The first thing i noticed was how empty the church was. This must have been around 9:30 a.m which is pretty late. Usually Church starts at 8:00am and get filled up even around 10:00 ish. I must confess, I do not remember the last time i went to church at 8am. On average, i get to church at around 10 ish (pretty late…I know). Anyway, I had decided to go early on this particular sunday and I was shocked at the amount of people I saw. I thought people were just late and they’d probably arrive at around 10 ish but that did not happen. I kept wondering why.
Turns out, many members of our congregation were affected by the flood(s) that swept through the city the night before. I was out with my mum that evening (saturday evening) and we saw many cars get stuck in the flood and even worse the gutters and drainages were filled up. It was hard to tell apart gutters from the roads and you can imagine how many accidents would have occurred.
We later found out on Sunday that properties and homes had been destroyed in the flood and even worse, lives had been lost. Really sad. Like every other politically aware citizen, I waited ‘patiently’ to hear what plan the government had for victims of the flood and what policies were being put in place to avert future floods. I heard nothing. Absolutely nothing.
It is Thursday, four days after and still nothing from the government of this state. There is so much to say and I don’t even know where to start. I sort of pictured what other state governments of other countries may have done if this happened in their state. It just feels like nothing happened here, like the government is not concerned about people who suffered.
…And then i thought, maybe I’m the one who is unaware. Maybe the government is actually taking this seriously and I don’t know about it so i decided to do a bit of research. Still nothing. So how exactly can citizens get the attention of their ‘democratic’ governments if being seriously affected by floods is not enough to give the government a wake up call.
I have seen TV ads (or short stories) that sing the praises of the government of this state and how the governor has been so helpful to the poor. Ha!!!! now I am convinced the ads are nothing but a campaign tool of the current government for re-elections. It is sad really, a lot of money is spent on carnivals and other celebrations yet nothing is spent on sustaining human dignity.
P.S. The state I’m in (and writing about) is Cross River State…supposedly known as the people’s paradise. Please don’t let me get into the irony of this.
November 10, 2011 In6ii ('6' is silent')2 Comments
The whole world is aware of the drought situation in East Africa and the Horn of Africa. Well, it is a really sad situation and the whole world is trying to respond in the way that they can.
I was going through my Twitter page yesterday and everyone was talking about the drought speech given by Alfred Mutua (The Kenyan Government Spokesperson) and I couldn’t comment on the issue because I had not heard the speech. Thankfully, someone I know posted the video on Facebook (Thank God for social media) and now I can finally comment. Before I state my point, all the comments had seen on the speech were negative comments.
Funny enough, after listening to the speech I came to the conclusion that his speech raised SOME valid points; emphasis on the word ‘some’ because i don’t agree with everything he said but as I previously said a couple of points he raised were valid and this is just my opinion – Feel free to disagree if you want. ( I have included the video in this post for those who have not watched it). I feel that people are too busy being emotional and sentimental to hear the bits of the speech that make sense.
THE POINTS I THOUGHT AS VALID:
1. He mentioned the system of distribution and logistics . This is true and this happens all the time not just in Kenya but in other countries that face similar situations. Sadly, the people he is representing are the ones to blame for this logistics problem especially considering the fact that this is not the first time that part of the world has experienced drought. The government should have come up with a better distribution system years ago.
2. He also mentioned the issue of getting food to the Somalia refugees and I know this sounds ridiculous but he has a point. having people Walk for over 500 km to become refugees when there are alternative ways of feeding them is a point people should look into. The WFP and other agencies are considering food drops and alternative means of getting food to people. I like that he said it is not moral to wait for refugees to go and die in Kenya when they could have been fed where they were. (Bearing in mind that not all refugees make it to the host countries alive, these deaths could have been avoided). As it is, the refugee camps in Kenya are already over crowded, why put a strain on the already strained UNHCR and their efforts in these camps? However, people who flee do it on their own accord.
3. He made mention of locals (cartels and individuals) who profit from situations like this. This is the best point he raised (In my opinion), It is quite sad that these things happen. It happened in Somalia and Sudan as well. Many aid agencies have complained about having to deal with people who want to desperately profit from humanitarian crises. These people make it difficult for those who are trying to get food to people who need them just because they want to use food as a political and economic tool.
4. Bad media – I’d like to ask the people who think his speech was rubbish if they feel it is okay for the media to take advantage of situations like this. yes, there is drought in Kenya but it is very wrong to say the entire country lacks food and that people should not travel there. Remember that the country also makes money from tourism.
I find it weird that the government claims that no one has died as a result of this drought, I do not believe that as well as a few other things he said. I just thought I should point out that while he was trying to make the Kenyan government seem ‘perfect’ he indeed raised valid points.
I got inspired to do a spotlight category because there are a lot of NGO’s out there carrying out development work in developing countries. Some of them get more credit than others, some get more credit than they deserve and some get credit for nothing at all. I’d like to dedicate this section to NGOs, FBOs (Faith Based Organizations) and CBOs (Community Based Organizations) that take part in development efforts at the grassroot level. The NGO I will talking about today is Tree Aid. You can tell a lot about them from the name. Obviously, they are an environmental organization and I have been blessed with the opportunity of volunteering for them so when I say they work really hard you know I am not making it up. Their philosophy is simple: ‘For communities in Africa, trees mean life’ also ‘tackling poverty and environmental protection are inseparable’.
Their work is focused on dry lands in the Sahel and so far they have carried out and continue to carry out projects in 4 countries namely: Burkina Faso (they have a regional office there), Mali, Ghana (North) and Ethiopia. Their key programme areas are: Natural resource management (they work with rural communities in the Sahel to ensure that the environment is improved through using sustainable practices that are affordable), Access rights to land and trees , Food security and Nutrition (through sustainable natural resource management) and Enterprise (in recognition of the fact that communities need to earn income in order to look after their families and improve their standard of living).
I admire the work that they do especially because it goes way beyond planting trees. If you donate to charities you might wanna look into this because it will be worth your money. Their website is www.treeaid.org.uk you could check them out for yourselves. I always advice people not to donate to just any organization, inasmuch as you want to help humanity the fact remains that not everyone who asks for money has the best intentions. Thank God for technology, check out what organizations do and what people have to say about them before donating or supporting campaigns.
Violence erupted in Dadaab refugee camp last week. Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya is home to thousands of refugees from Somalia. The violence resulted in the death of one refugee and injuries were sustained by several other refugees. You are probably wondering why there was violence in a refugee camp in the first place and what the aid workers were doing to quell the violence. Well, according to UNHCR the riot began when illegal structures built around a food distribution point got destroyed and the Kenyan police used teargas (as usual) and later live ammunition.
In my opinion, overcrowding is partially to blame. Over 370,000 people stay in the camps in Dadaab (obviously the world’s largest refugee camp), more people keep coming into the camps so eventually a ‘survival of the fittest’ issue becomes a reality. They cannot be sent back be the Kenyan authority because it will be a violation of refugee law; if a system of regulation is not created then we are sure to hear of more violence and even worse. Some refugees have settled down in unregulated areas, we can only hope that the Government of Kenya in partnership with NGOs can settle these problems. Somali refugees do not only run to Kenya for refuge, Ethiopia is home to about 110,000 Somali refugees.
I’m presently working on my postgraduate dissertation, it is supposed to be about 15,000 words. I am not even sure where to get all those words from but I’ve just been exploring different themes that relate to the subject matter (I’m writing on healthcare systems in West Africa…well specifically ECOWAS) and i came across something interesting. I mentioned it in one of my previous posts but reading about it in detail kind of makes me want to talk about it and there is no one to talk about it to so i decided to bring it up in the one place where i can rant as much as i want!!!
Turns out Brain Drain affects Africa more than you could ever imagine, Statistics have a way of making things seem more realistic. When i talked about brain drain previously I had no idea how many people were moving in and out of Africa (this does not include people who travel for holidays or tourism) so it didn’t seem like a big deal then. Studying/ partially studying for my project is clearing things up for me. People in Africa would rather work abroad than in Africa (well i can’t speak for everyone but a good number of people would) and who am I to judge when I’m writing this post from Bristol. I just wonder if there will ever be a time when Africans will find Africa attractive enough to want to pass on opportunities abroad. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with traveling and exploring the world.
If you know me well, you would know I have to link this up with HIV/AIDS…and yes there is a link between brain drain and HIV/AIDS. A UNAIDS report shows that there is lack of enough medical and other professional personnel in Africa which is a setback because these professionals could be useful in the prevention and treatment of AIDS.
Teachers, medical researchers, Doctors, Nurses etc are all crucial to the fight against HIV in Africa and I know the grass may always look greener on the other side but if everyone migrates, who do we really expect to fill in the vacuum? Just something to think about! I can’t really say all I have to say because some of the info is reserved for dissertation and no part of it is supposed to published. I may rant on this topic after i submit!
April 13, 2012
In6ii ('6' is silent')
Sprinkling Hope 