West Africa’s main bloc has agreed on a “D-day” for possible military intervention to restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained President Mohamed Bazoum last month.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed on Friday to activate a standby force as a last resort if diplomatic efforts fail, a senior official said without disclosing when that is.

“We are ready to go any time the order is given,” ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Abdel-Fatau Musah said during the closing ceremony of a two-day meeting of West African army chiefs in Ghana’s capital, Accra.

“The D-day is also decided. We’ve already agreed and fine-tuned what will be required for the intervention,” he said, emphasising that ECOWAS was still seeking to engage peacefully with Niger’s military leaders.

“As we speak, we are still readying [a] mediation mission into the country, so we have not shut any door.”

The defence chiefs met to fine-tune details of the potential military operation to restore Bazoum if ongoing negotiations with the coup leaders fail.

“Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa, both the military and the civilian components, are ready to answer to the call of duty,” Musah said.

Military officers deposed Bazoum on July 26 and have defied calls from the United Nations, ECOWAS and others to reinstate him.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Accra in Ghana, said that any possible military intervention against Niger’s coup leaders by ECOWAS still faces “many political and legal hurdles before it could ever be implemented”.

“These include approval by parliaments and legislative bodies of participating West African states, a number of which, including regional powerhouse Nigeria, have already said no to any potential military action yet,” Stratford said.

Mutaru Mumuni, executive director at the West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism, told Al Jazeera that ECOWAS appeared to be sending “mixed and confusing” signals regarding Niger.

According to Mumuni, the bloc has said that the military option is a last resort and that it has opened the door for dialogue and negotiation. But, at the same time, the bloc also seems focused on military intervention, which would be “very unpopular”, he said.

“There isn’t any goodwill within the local space for any war or military intervention in Niger,” Mumuni added.

Bazoum, whose 2021 election was a landmark in Niger’s troubled history, has been held with his family at the president’s official residence since the coup, and international concern is growing over his conditions in detention.

ECOWAS has a poor track record in stemming the region’s rampant coups. Neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have each had two within three years.

Niger’s coup was seen by the international community and ECOWAS as one too many. In addition to threatening a military invasion, the bloc has imposed severe economic and travel sanctions.

But as time drags on with no military action and a standstill in negotiations, Niger’s military leaders are becoming entrenched in power, leaving ECOWAS with few choices.

But any use of force would further destabilise West Africa’s impoverished Sahel region, which is already engaged in a decade-old battle with armed groups.

Niger also has strategic importance beyond West Africa because of its uranium and oil reserves and role as a hub for foreign troops involved in the fight against the armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).

Credit to: Aljazeera

August 19th, 1964 World’s First Geostationary Satellite is Launched

Syncom 3, a communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. A geostationary satellite is a manmade object that follows the Earth’s rotation around its axis. Because of this, it looks like it is not moving in the sky for observers on Earth. Like all geostationary satellites, Syncom 3 was placed in orbit about 22,00 miles from Earth, above the Equator and near the International Date Line. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were broadcast to the United States with the help of this satellite.

Sequel to his deployment to the Ministry of Petroleum as the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri today, paid an official visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as they reviewed the President’s vision and initiatives for a more productive petroleum sector.

The visit which had the Honourable Minister of FCT in attendance, ex-Rivers Governor, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, was the first official visit between the duo as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu talked the Honourable Minister through his roadmap to a more profitable sector for the nation.

Speaking afterwards, the Honourable Minister expressed happiness over what he described as “proactive thinking” on the part of Mr. President, for his initiatives to develop the nation’s economic backbone with the view to strengthen our economy.

Senator Heineken promised to offer the best of service, in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu developmental initiatives in the sector as he’s hitting the ground running with immediate effect.

credit to: vanguardngr.com

A retired Squadron Leader of the Nigerian Airforce, Ben Williams, has expressed misgivings over President Ahmed Tinubu’s choice of politicians without expertise in security matters as ministers of Defence.

He noted that Nigeria needs persons with core competence in areas of security to address current and merging threats to the nation’s security.

Williams, who is a security consultant and chieftain of the Delta State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress, said this while speaking to journalists in Abuja, on Friday.

According to him, the Nigerian defence sector can better be serviced by the administration of security experts who abound across the length and breath of Nigeria.

The retired military officer explained that Nigerians deserve men and women who are trained to provide security and defend our territorial space stretching over 923,000km land area.

Nigeria, he argued, is blessed with a pool of serving and retired officers in whom huge amounts of tax payers money was spent training at home and abroad.

Williams equally said he completely agrees with the thoughts shared by a political analyst, Mahdi Shehu, who appeared on Arise TV and described  the appointments of Mohammed Badaru and Bello Matawalle, as Ministers and Minister of state for defence respectively, as an “insult.”

He said,  “The task of superintending over critical formations across the country in the police Commands in the military cannot be done on experimental basis or requiring people to learn on the job.

West African military chiefs are holding a second day of talks in Ghana on Friday, preparing for a possible armed intervention in Niger after a coup removed President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed a day earlier to activate a “standby force” as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained Bazoum.

ECOWAS defence chiefs are having a two-day meeting in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, to fine-tune details of a potential military operation to restore Bazoum if continuing negotiations with coup leaders fail.

“Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails the valiant forces of West Africa, both the military and the civilian components, are ready to answer to the call of duty,” Abdel-Fatau Musah, an ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security, told the meeting on Thursday.

“Meanwhile, we are still giving diplomacy a chance and the ball is in the court of the junta.”

Musah added that except for Cape Verde and countries led by military governments, all other countries in the 15-member bloc are ready to contribute to the regional force.

The defence chiefs are expected to announce any next steps at a closing ceremony at 4pm (16:00 GMT).

Bazoum, whose 2021 election was a landmark in Niger’s troubled history, has been held with his family at the president’s official residence since the coup, with growing international concern over his conditions in detention.

ECOWAS leaders say they must act after Niger became the fourth West African nation since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

The Sahel region is struggling with armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) and frustration over the violence has in part prompted the military takeovers.

Details of the Niger operation have not been released and analysts say any intervention would be politically and militarily risky, especially for regional powerhouse Nigeria.

Nigeria is already struggling to contain violence from several armed groups at home, and leaders in the country’s north have warned about spillover from Niger across the border if there is an intervention.

ECOWAS troops have intervened in other emergencies since 1990, including civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ivory Coast, Benin and Nigeria are expected to contribute troops to a Niger mission.

Niger’s coup leaders have warned against any military attacks and defiantly threatened to charge Bazoum with treason. But they have also said they are open to talks.

The military-led governments in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso have also said an intervention in Niger would be seen as a declaration of war against them.

Russia and the United States have urged a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

ECOWAS has already applied trade and financial sanctions on Niger while France, Germany and the United States have suspended aid programmes.

Germany has also said it wants the European Union to impose sanctions on the coup leaders, saying that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had held talks with her French and US counterparts.

Credit: Aljazeera

The Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buah Saidy, has returned home Wednesday after attending the 45th meeting of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) held in Livingstone, Zambia. Governor Saidy until this meeting was the president of the AACB.
The AACB was created to promote co-operation in monetary, banking, and financial spheres in the African region, bring about and maintain price and financial stability, and spearhead a convergence process towards a single currency and a common central bank in Africa, among others.
Governor Saidy in a historic and unprecedented achievement, secured the endorsement of all forty-two (42) African Central Bank Governors to allow for the establishment of the African Monetary Institute (AMI).
The creation and establishment of the AMI has been in the works for at least a decade.
The AMI when discussed and approved at both ministerial and presidential committee levels, is expected to culminate into the establishment of the African Central Bank. This would be an essential pillar in the pursuit of a single currency for Africa and a significant step towards continental economic integration.
Similarly, Governor Saidy was able to get the support of his colleague Governors for the activation of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism that is critical in helping member countries achieve the convergence criteria towards a single currency. The Pan African Payment Systems, another critical mechanism in enhancing payments across African borders was also endorsed by the Governors, thanks to the commitment and dynamism of the CBG Governor.
The new chairperson of the AACB is the Zambian Central Bank Governor, Dr Denny Kaliyalaya. The next AACB meeting is scheduled to take place in July 2024 in Libya.

Credit to: standard.gm

Pan-African leader Marcus Garvey was born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, on Aug. 17, 1887.

Marcus Garvey, an impassioned leader of the Black Nationalist and Pan-African movements, was born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, on Aug. 17, 1887.  His career in political activism started when he was just 14, when he left Jamaica to travel to South Africa as a journalist and newspaper editor. It was that trip that inspired him to form the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1912. Garvey’s vision was to instill self-determination and empowerment into all people of African descent, encouraging a pilgrimage back to their African homelands. Garvey’s Pan-African message of unity eventually spread to the United States, and by 1916, UNIA’s membership has swelled to 4 million worldwide.
He was also the head of several successful trade and commerce businesses under the UNIA.  At the peak of his influence, however, Garvey was investigated for mail fraud, convicted in 1923 and later deported to London. He again came under fire after he pledged his support for the Greater Liberia Act of 1938, a controversial bill calling for the deportation of 12 million African-Americans to Liberia to relieve unemployment. In his final days, the political leader suffered several strokes and died in London on June 10, 1940. Garvey’s legacy would later inspire the formation of the Nation of Islam and notable civil rights leaders including Malcolm X in the 1950s and ’60s.

West African military chiefs are set to meet Thursday in Ghana to coordinate a possible intervention aimed at reversing Niger’s coup. But it appears the African Union disagrees with a military outcome. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments on the situation in Niger. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

9:36am: ‘Anger’ in Ghana over some ECOWAS countries’ willingness to participate in Niger intervention

There is “widespread public anger” in Ghana over some ECOWAS countries’ willingness to participate in a possible military intervention in Niger following the July 26 coup d’état. FRANCE 24’s Justice Baidoo reports from Accra, where a two-day meeting of military chiefs from the West African bloc kicks off on Thursday.

7:33am: AU ‘probably waiting’ for ECOWAS military chiefs to meet before taking ‘next steps’ on Niger

The African Union has rejected an ECOWAS proposal to stage a military intervention in Niger unless the junta cedes power and reinstates President Mohamed Bazoum, according to several sources cited by French media. However, the AU’s Peace and Security Council, which met in Addis Ababa earlier this week, had not issued a joint statement on the union’s stance as of Wednesday.

The AU is “probably waiting to hear what ECOWAS’ decision is going to be” at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the West African regional bloc’s military chiefs set to begin today in Ghana, Andrew Tchie, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, told FRANCE 24’s Eye on Africa show.

“I think that’s [what] the African Union is waiting for, before it maybe speaks about what its decision’s going to be and what the next steps are going to be” on Niger, Tchie said.

4:30am: West African military chiefs to meet in Ghana this Thursday

West African military chiefs are set to meet Thursday in Ghana to coordinate a possible intervention aimed at reversing Niger’s coup.

Alarmed by a cascade of takeovers in the region, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has decided to create a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger.

The meeting of the top brass on Thursday and Friday comes after fresh violence in the insurgent-hit country, with jihadists killing at least 17 soldiers in an ambush.

Key developments from Wednesday, August 16:

The African Union is “rejecting” a military solution to the coup in Niger. The African Union’s Peace and Security Council, the organ in charge of enforcing the bloc’s decisions, met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday for talks on the crisis in Niger that one African diplomat described as “difficult“.

According to several sources cited by French media, the council rejected an ECOWAS proposal to stage a military intervention unless the Nigerien military junta cedes power and reinstates President Mohamed Bazoum. Bazoum has been under house arrest since the July 26 coup.

Meanwhile the United Nations warned Wednesday that the ongoing crisis in Niger could significantly worsen food insecurity in the impoverished country, urging humanitarian exemptions to sanctions and border closures to avert catastrophe.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA highlighted that even before Niger’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum was toppled in a coup late last month, the country counted more than three million acutely food-insecure people.

Finally, the United States said Wednesday that a new ambassador would head shortly to Niger as planned and would help lead diplomacy aimed at reversing the coup.

Kathleen FitzGibbon, a career diplomat with extensive experience in Africa, was confirmed by the Senate as ambassador one day after the coup after her nomination was held up for a full year as part of an unrelated political battle.

Credit to: France24

The Nigerian Government will arraign the suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele and two other suspects before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Thursday over fresh 20 counts, bordering on procurement fraud allegations.

CBN employee, Sa’adatu Yaro and her company, April 1616 Investment Limited for alleged N6.9 billion procurement fraud, conspiracy and conferring corrupt advantages on his associates.

This comes barely 24 hours after SaharaReporters reported that the Nigerian Government had applied to withdraw the “illegal possession of firearms” case it filed against Emefiele, at the Federal High Court in Lagos and filed fresh charges against him in an Abuja court.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Bakodo Abubakar told Justice Nicholas Oweibo that the application followed the result of further investigation.

He made his application orally.

But the defence counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN) opposed him, arguing that because the government was in disobedience of the court’s order granting Emefiele bail, its application could not be taken.

The court adjourned till August 18 for the ruling.

The judge on July 25 admitted Emefiele to N20 million bail on two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and ordered his remand at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.

But the DSS rearrested the embattled bank chief after fighting off prison officials on the court’s premises.

According to the new charge sheet, the three accused persons bought a fleet of 98 exotic vehicles and armoured buses valued at about N6.9 billion.

The vehicles were listed as 84 Toyota Hilux trucks, 10 armoured Mercedes Benz buses, three Toyota Landcruisers, and one Toyota Avalon car were purchased between 2018 and 2020.

One of the charges reads, “That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, male, adult, Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro, female, adult, and April 1616 Investment Ltd, sometime in 2019 within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court did conspire amongst yourselves to use the office of Mr Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro, a staff of thr Central Bank of Nigeria by awarding a contract for the supply of 1 (No.) Toyota Land Cruiser V8 at the cost of N73,800,000 only to April 1616 Investment Ltd.”

Credit to: Saharareporters.com