CC™ VideoSpective
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Flashback: Nigeria - Sultan of Sokoto condemns Boko Haram crackdown
CC™ Editor's Flashback
The sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims, has condemned the military crackdown against the Islamist Boko Haram sect.
"We cannot solve violence with violence," Mohamed Sa'ad Abubakar told a meeting of religious leaders.
The Boko Haram, based in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, says it is fighting for Islamic rule.
It has been behind recent assassinations of prominent figures and a wave of bombings.
Two years ago, Nigeria's security forces brutally suppressed an uprising by the sect, destroying its compound in Maiduguri - the capital of Borno state - and then capturing and killing its leader Mohammed Yusuf.
Instead of disappearing, the group, which opposes Western education and is fighting for Islamic rule, re-emerged last September and vowed to avenge its leader's death.
Last month, it said it had carried out an attack on the headquarters of the Nigerian police in Abuja, which killed at least six people.
But the response of the security forces has led to criticism from rights group and the governor of Borno state.
Correspondents say many residents of Maiduguri are now more scared of the army than they are of Boko Haram.
"That problem can never be solved by drafting soldiers into cities where there is [a] problem - and in the process innocent lives were lost," said the sultan, who once served as military officer.
It is the first time the sultan has spoken about the Boko Haram insurgency.
Muslim clerics who have criticised the sect have been among those targeted for assassination in drive-by shootings over the past year.
The sultan also said the five policemen who have just gone on trial this month for the killing of Mr Yusuf should not be given bail.
Boko Haram's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad".
But residents of Maiduguri, where it was formed in 2002, dubbed it Boko Haram.
Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden.
Boko Haram sees such education as corrupting Muslims.
Nigeria - Africa's most populous nation - is split between the predominately Muslim north and largely Christian south.
Editor’s Commentary - This piece was published on July 29, 2011 and another Southerner, Goodluck Jonathan was President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sultan Mohamed Sa'ad Abubakar has always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In the piece in question from 2011, he (Sultan Abubakar), the leader of Nigeria’s Northern Muslims, vehemently opposed the military crackdown on the terrorists at the time, particularly because it was being led by a Southern Chief of Army Staff, a South-Easterner (Retired Lieutenant general Azubuike Ihejirika) to be precise, and it was also yielding results in terms of decimating the insurgents in a devastating way.
Sultan Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai and ex-president, Muhammadu Buhari are religious and ethnic Fulani irredentists, who secretly and overtly (as El-Rufai did as Kaduna State Governor) subscribe to the tenets of Fulani supremacy and dominance by any means necessary. The hypocrisy of the Sultan of Sokoto is not debatable and he lacks (and will always lack) credibility when it comes to the twin issue of ethno-religious intolerance in Nigeria, as it relates to the ethnic cleansing in the Middle-Belt and other parts of Nigeria by the Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram.
Saturday
A troubling trend that has gone unchecked for ages: Nigeria lecturer suspended after being exposed in 'sex-for-grades' film
CC™ Eye on Africa
The University of Lagos has suspended a lecturer (also said to be a Lead Pastor of the local Foursquare Church) who was caught on film propositioning and sexually harassing an undercover BBC reporter.
The church has reportedly condemned the actions of Boniface Igbeneghu and suspended hm from all ministerial/pastorial duties.
Ironically, the church (Foursquare Church) he serves as a flock leader is a global church that was founded by an American woman, Aimee Semple McPherson.
The University of Lagos has suspended a lecturer (also said to be a Lead Pastor of the local Foursquare Church) who was caught on film propositioning and sexually harassing an undercover BBC reporter.
The church has reportedly condemned the actions of Boniface Igbeneghu and suspended hm from all ministerial/pastorial duties.
Ironically, the church (Foursquare Church) he serves as a flock leader is a global church that was founded by an American woman, Aimee Semple McPherson.
He was one of several academics secretly filmed as part of a year-long investigation by the BBC show that focuses on Africa.
The film, which has sparked widespread social media comment, explored alleged sexual harassment by members of staff at two top West African universities, the University of Lagos (Nigeria) and the University of Ghana (Ghana).
A number of high-profile figures, including celebrities and politicians, have joined in the conversation about the issues it raised.
The report also saw students, some with their identities hidden, making allegations about their own experiences with professors.
Dr Igbeneghu has made no comment.
Friday
Putin warns West it is leading the world towards a potential nuclear confrontation
CC™ Headline News
President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday of a “real” risk of nuclear war if the West escalates the conflict in Ukraine, offering a defiant and emboldened stance in his annual speech to Russians.
Speaking in Moscow, Putin said his soldiers were advancing in Ukraine and warned the West of “tragic consequences” for any country that dared to send troops to Kyiv.
They have announced the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine… The consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic,” he said in his address to the nation.
“They should eventually realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. Everything that the West comes up with creates the real threat of a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and thus the destruction of civilisation,” said Putin.
His comments appeared to be a response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s refusal earlier this week to rule out sending troops to Ukraine — a stance that drew swift rejection from other leaders in Europe.
Nevertheless, the debate has struck a nerve in Moscow, which has long seen its conflict with Ukraine as part of a wider “hybrid war” being waged against it by NATO.
Western leaders have repeatedly criticised Putin for what they see as his reckless use of nuclear rhetoric.
After pulling Russia out of arms control treaties with the United States and previously warning he was “not bluffing” when he said he was ready to use nuclear weapons, Putin had appeared in recent months to dial down his nuclear threats.
But the fresh warning comes with the Kremlin buoyed by recent gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, but also an economy that has largely defied sanctions and ahead of an election certain to extend Putin’s term in the Kremlin until 2030.
- Russian forces ‘advancing’ -
The current state of affairs marks a sharp reversal in fortunes for Moscow over the last 12 months.
Last year at this time, Russian troops were reeling from Ukrainian counteroffensives that pushed them back in northeastern and southern Ukraine.
But after a Ukrainian campaign in the summer of 2023 failed to bring similar results, Kyiv is back on the defensive.
The initially strong Western support for Ukraine also appears to be fraying, with a $60-billion US aid package stalled in Congress.
Outgunning Ukrainian forces on the battlefield, Putin’s troops seized the eastern stronghold of Avdiivka and are attempting to build on their advances.
Putin on Thursday pointed to recent successes.
“The combat capacity of our armed forces has increased many times over,” he said.
“They are advancing confidently in a number of areas,” he added, without providing details.
Flanked by Russian tricolour flags and standing alone on stage at the Gostiny Dvor Palace near Moscow’s Red Square, the Russian leader reeled off his country’s arsenal of advanced weapons, including the Zircon and Kinzhal supersonic missiles.
But he slammed reports Russia was preparing to deploy a nuclear weapon in space as a “ploy” by Washington to draw Moscow into arms control talks “on their terms”.
- Election campaign -
Putin also touted Russia’s strong economic performance at home and outlined a number of small-scale domestic reforms as part of his pitch to Russians ahead of next month’s presidential election.
His speech was broadcast not only on state television but also on large digital screens and free of charge in cinemas across the country.
On the economic front, he said Russia was faring better than many expected.
Massive investment in military production, as well as high salaries and benefits for soldiers, has largely shielded the economy from the worst consequences of Western sanctions.
There is little doubt on the outcome of the March 15-17 vote, with all genuine opposition candidates barred from standing and the Kremlin’s most vocal critic Alexei Navalny now dead.
But Putin has still been campaigning, traveling around the country and making numerous media appearances since the start of the year, including recently flying a Russian bomber.
The 71-year-old former KGB officer, in power since the final day of 1999, is the longest serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin — a record he is set to pass during his next six-year term.
Even before Putin ordered forces into Ukraine in February 2022, he had increasingly portrayed himself as a defender of Russian values against a decadent, liberal and expansionist West.
He has used the military campaign to escalate a crackdown on domestic opponents, with hundreds prosecuted for criticising the Kremlin and its military offensive.
The speech came on the eve of a planned funeral for Putin’s top opponent Navalny, who died in prison on 16 February in unclear circumstances.
Putin, who famously never referred to the opposition leader by name, has remained silent on Navalny’s shock death that prompted outrage at home and abroad.
AFP
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Monday
America Divided: Majority of Trump voters believe it's 'time to split the country' in two, poll finds
CC™ Politico News
By Madison Hall & Bryan Metzger
A majority of people who voted for former President Donald Trump are in favor of breaking up the country, a new poll from the University of Virginia Center for Politics has found.
UVA surveyed 2,012 voters - half of whom voted for Trump, the other half for President Joe Biden - in order to better understand the growing split between the Democratic and Republican Parties.
The results show a country at ideological war with itself: More than half of the surveyed Trump voters - approximately 52% - said the "situation is such that I would favor [Blue/Red] states seceding from the union to form their own separate country." Approximately 41% of Biden-voting respondents answered similarly.
Some Republicans have floated proposals to secede from the union, including former Texas GOP chair Allen West. After the Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit spearheaded by the Texas attorney general aimed at overturning the 2020 presidential election results, West said that "perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution."
The survey shows Republicans and Democrats heavily distrust one another, with 80% or more of respondents from each party saying the opposing side presents "a clear and present danger to American democracy." In addition, 80% or more of survey respondents said they're worried they or someone close to them will experience "personal loss or suffering due to the effects" of the opposing party's policies.
An overwhelming number Trump voters in the survey - about 83% - said that society needs to stop the many "radical" and "immoral people trying to ruin things" in the country, further noting that the US needs a "powerful leader in order to destroy the radical and immoral currents" prevalent in society.
Biden voters were less supportive of the same sentiments. For example, 62% of Biden voters at least somewhat agreed that the country needs a "powerful leader in order to destroy the radical and immoral currents" in the country, compared to 82% of Republicans who said the same.
"The divide between Trump and Biden voters is deep, wide, and dangerous," Larry Sabato, the director of UVA's Center for Politics, wrote. "The scope is unprecedented, and it will not be easily fixed."
Even if they can't agree with each other on policy or the direction of the country, around 80% of voters from each side said they preferred democracy over any other style of government.
While it wasn't captured in the survey, both parties also seem to agree on major priorities like modernizing and improving infrastructure, as evidenced by a bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August with 19 GOP votes.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Sunday
Regarding the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines
By David Ibeleme, MD, MBBS; PG-Dip; MSc.; MPH
There have been a lot of reports of vaccine adverse affects on several platforms across the globe. This post serves to put some of the things into perspective based on what we know from the science regarding the COVID-19 vaccines at this time.
Before, I share my perspective I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the families of everyone who is reported to have passed as a result receiving any of the WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines.
I trust the Lord to comfort and strengthen them as they go through this season of bereavement.
It's always a sad time when anyone has an adverse reaction to a medication (in this case a vaccine) that is meant to make them feel better. It creates a sense of low confidence in the medical interventions and institutions and most certainly increases vaccine hesitancy.
For us as doctors and medical personnel who have taken an oath "to do no harm", it's always a major concern. We therefore always feel it for the individual(s) and their family, and our best wishes go to them for speedy recovery and in the case of fatalities our sincerest condolences are extended to their families.
There are currently over two hundred and thirty one million (>231M) recorded Covid-19 cases globally accounting for over four million seven hundred and thirty five thousand (>4.735M) deaths globally. Adding vaccine related adverse effects does not help the situation for us at all.
However, we must also note that everyone who takes a vaccine knows (or ought to be informed before the shot) that side effects generally ALWAYS follow.
These side effects are usually non-life threatening for the most parts and also indicate that the immune system is responding very well to the vaccine.
It must also be noted that every individual reacts differently to vaccines and even to medications generally (I have a cousin that developed a near fatal adverse reaction to Ibuprofen or Motrin).
My wife and I have had our vaccines (AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine) already and we are doing well, along with a host of our friends and colleagues who have also had their vaccines.
Here in Trinidad and Tobago where I live, about 500,000 people have already had COVID19 vaccines and a phenomenally significant majority are doing very well. We have no officially confirmed vaccine related deaths to date and have less than ten (10) reported major adverse reactions, and these have all been resolved.
With respect to clotting issues in relation to the COVID19 vaccines; note that Clotting issues are way more common in the general population and in people who have had the COVID19 infection, than in people who have had the vaccine. That's the irrefutable fact.
Hence, the fact that one person develops (or some people develop) clotting, following vaccination should never negate the benefits of vaccines. Benefits that have been evident and undisputed for over two hundred (200) years.
Indeed the benefits of vaccines have been proven over the years COVID19 or no COVID19. Hence, the advent of COVID-19 should not change that. This is why most, if not all of us have been vaccinated against diseases like polio, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, pertussis, yellow fever, hepatitis, HPV, etc.
We can all testify that countless numbers of deaths have been prevented through the use of vaccines. Vaccination remains the major tool in the fight against infectious diseases.
I am a polio survivor, however, I have been left with permanent paralysis in my right lower limb because I was not vaccinated on time, against the polio virus.
Vaccines are manufactured under strict protocols to ensure safety and efficacy, and the current COVID19 vaccines approved by the WHO have definitely gone through these rigorous measures. This is also why they are given emergency use authorization before full authorization. The emergency use authorization is to help protect the most vulnerable in a pandemic and also in determining how the vaccines perform in the general population. Emergency use authorizations are not just for vaccines but for medications in general and even for laboratory tests. Medications are often pulled or recalled and not granted full authorization if or when they are found to cause significantly adverse effects while they have emergency use authorization.
Some people have stated that these COVID-19 vaccines are not the same as the original vaccines we have been taking for years. Please permit me to clarify that a bit. Of the over twenty (20) Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved by at least one WHO recognized authority; there are only two (2) mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Modena, these are the newest technology vaccines); nine (9) killed inactivated vaccines which include Sinopharm, Sinovac, Coronavac and Covaxin (these have the same technology for injectable polio, rabies, hepatitis A and influenza); five (5) viral vector vaccines which include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik V and Convidecia; four (4) protein subunit vaccines which are Abdala (from Cuba), Epivac-corona, RBD Dimer and Zivifax, one (1) conjugated vaccine, Soberana from Iran.
The technology for these vaccines have been with us for decades; mRNA for about thirty (30) years, conjugate and protein subunits for over forty (40) years, viral vector vaccines for about fifty (50) years and killed inactivated vaccines for over seventy (70) years.
To date over six (6) billion doses of COVID19 vaccines have been administered across two hundred and seventeen (217) countries globally. So far, over two and half billion (>2.5B) which accounts for over thirty three percent (33.2%) of the global population. It must also be noted that a very significant number of those vaccinated are doing very well and have significantly been protected against severe illness.
I must also indicate that correlation is not necessarily causation.
Hence, some reported fatalities following vaccinations have been clarified following autopsies as not being due to the vaccines, but due to some underlying condition that the deceased had which might not have been apparent to them or their relatives.
I encourage people who have had adverse effects and relatives of people who have died following vaccination to report them quickly and consistently to the relevant authorities. This will ensure that it can be properly investigated and also aid in the knowledge that we are acquiring regarding the vaccines. Remember that if it is not officially reported, then it cannot be officially confirmed and recorded.
Once again our sincere condolences go out to families whose relatives have had fatal adverse effects secondary to vaccine administrations or to any medications.
Let us continue to follow the recommended public health protocols and stay safe as we continue the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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