To infinity and beyond
26 September 2017 09:32 (South Africa)
Africa

The SADC Wrap: Zambia calls for help, while Mugabe is an unexpected voice of reason

  • KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
    KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
Photo: President of Zimbabwe Robert Gabriel Mugabe speaks during the General Debate of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 21 September 2017. EPA-EFE/JASON SZENES

From the UN General Assembly to Tanzania and Zimbabwe, KRISTEN VAN SCHIE brings you a weekly round-up of news making regional waves.

Original photo: Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin holds a copy of ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ by Dr. Seuss as she speaks at the 41st Annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, USA, 08 March 2014. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

US: Ambassador Sarah Palin to Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Nambia?

By J Brooks Spector
ISS Today: Nigeria’s military approach against separatists stokes more tension Government should engage with the pro-Biafra agitators, not popularise their cause through crackdowns. By ISS TODAY. First published by ISS Today Nigeria’s military has reacted heavy-handedly to a growing separatist swell in the south-east among organisations claiming to be the successors of the failed late-1960s Biafra secessionist movement. This month the military embarked on “Operation Python Dance”, a show of force to try to quell the Biafra agitation. The exercise targeted the supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader Nnamdi Kanu, who has been central to the Biafra agitation since 2015. Several pro-Biafrans have been arrested and the military has been accused of brutality, arbitrary killings and torture. Over 150 IPOB supporters were killed on last year’s Biafran Remembrance Day, human rights group Amnesty International reported. Besides Amnesty’s criticism of the government’s reaction though, there has been little international backlash. While the Nigerian military has labelled IPOB a terrorist organisation, opinions in the country differ on the response to the pro-Biafra movement. Some say the separatist activism must end, but many analysts agree that the government’s military response – as it was with Boko Haram – could further popularise the movement. It could also lessen the opportunities for dialogue and foster militancy in the region, they say. The latest clamour for the movement’s independence builds on the attempt by Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a former colonel of the Nigerian Army, to establish the State of Biafra. Ojukwu’s declaration of secession in 1967 led to the bloody Nigerian civil war that lasted until 1970. After Biafra again became part of Nigeria in 1970, the agitation lingered in various degrees. In 1999 when a democratic Nigeria emerged from a long history of military dictatorships, Ralph Uwazurike established the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). MASSOB however failed to realise the pro-Biafra dream. When Kanu, a relatively unknown pro-Biafra activist, was arrested for treason on 14 October 2015, the Biafran agitation became popular again. Kanu was detained in Kuje Prison in Abuja for over a year without trial. He was eventually tried early this year and released on bail by court orders, but he has flouted his bail conditions by stirring the unrest. Some observers say the recent call for Biafran independence is an attempt to undermine the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner. The Biafra activists were silent when former president Goodluck Jonathan, a southerner, was in power. Others argue that the fall in oil price, the weakened naira, Nigeria’s heavy debt burden and the high cost of living during Buhari’s regime have raised grievances across the country and have generally weakened the state. Professor Ufo Okeke-Uzodike, executive director of the African Heritage Institution in Nigeria, argues that perceptions of unfairness, discrimination and marginalisation have led to increased activism for secession not only by people from the south-east but across the country. This includes the call from the south-west for an Oduduwa Republic led by the Yoruba Liberation Command, and the call for a Niger Delta Republic in the south. Even in the north, there is a growing quest to liberate the Hausa from perceived Fulani hegemony. The Boko Haram insurgency that has exhibited extreme violence in its fight for an independent Islamic state counts among Nigeria’s secession challenges. Nevertheless, the Biafra unrest is the most popular current secessionist call. Fifty years on, the grievances that led to the Biafra declaration of independence and the civil war remain. IPOB regularly cites perceptions that Igbos are marginalised by the federal government in terms of infrastructure and appointments in state institutions. But IPOB’s radical views often estrange would-be supporters. Kanu has for example been criticised for his hate speech and offensive remarks about the Nigerian government. IPOB’s statements regarding the existence of a Biafra Secret Service and a Biafra National Guard also raise alarm about the group despite IPOB’s claim that the groups are unarmed self-defence units. IPOB has also threatened to prevent the election in the Biafra region beginning with the polls to be held in Anambra State in November. The disregard for the grievances of the people from the south-east and the military response to the Biafran issue are not new. Nigeria is infamous for stoking conflict through heavy-handed approaches. The Boko Haram insurgency has been blamed partly on the government’s killing of former leader Mohammed Yusuf in 2009 – a time when the group mainly exhibited radical views without violence. The recent killings of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a Shiite group in the north, also raise fears of potential unrest in the region. The group’s leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky has been in government detention since December 2015 after his residence was raided and many of his followers were killed. Opinions also differ on the government’s categorisation of the pro-Biafra groups as “terrorists”. While calling for calm and restraint, the Senate president Bukola Saraki said it was unconstitutional and against the law to proscribe IPOB or categorise it as a terrorist organisation. The African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the United Nations should urge the government to pursue a peaceful solution to the conflict. The government must move away from its default military response to dissent, because such responses have only improved the publicity and support base of these groups. Rather, systematic dialogue is needed that convinces Nigerians of the need for unity through ideas rather than through force. It should make genuine efforts to ensure equity, fairness and positive change in the lives of ordinary Nigerians and address the serious claims of marginalisation by inhabitants of the south-east. DM This article was written for the ISS’ Peace and Security Council Report Photo: A pro-Biafra activist stands next to pictures of the Biafra war victims on display, during a commemoration event of the 50th anniversary of the Nigerian civil war, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 30 May 2017. Photo: Legnan Koula/(EPA)

ISS Today: Nigeria’s military approach against separatists stokes more tension

By ISS TODAY
Photo: Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 16 May 2017. EPA/PATRICK SEEGER

ISS Today: Turning point for the AU-UN peacekeeping partnership?

By ISS TODAY
Photo: Angola-born Antonio Monteiro, a member of the United Nations Secretary General Referendum Panel, speaks to local election observers at the Referendum Centre at the Wau Central Prison, Southern Sudan as voting in the independence referendum continues 11 January 2011 Photo: EPA/Paul Banks/UNMISS HANDOUT

ISS Today: Local election observers are the ones who count

By ISS TODAY
Photo: Anjan58 (flickr)

Op-Ed: Charity begets charity – Time to enforce the human rights model on disability

By Sally Nyakanyanga
Photo: Zimbabwean police conduct a roadblock. Photo: bulawayo24.com

ISS Today: Zimbabwe’s shady police roadblocks reflect its failing governance

By ISS TODAY
Photo: A South Sudanese youth holds a candle during the celebration of the seventh anniversary of Martyrs day, in Juba, South Sudan, 30 July 2012. Photo: EPA/PHILIP DHIL

ISS Today: Turning Africa’s youth into peace builders

By ISS TODAY
Photo: Supporters of Raila Odinga, the leader of The National Super Alliance (NASA) opposition coalition and its presidential candidate, cheer as they listen to Odinga's speech during his campaign rally in Nairobi on 17 September 2017. Odinga once again reiterated that opposition will not take part in presidential election re-run unless the electoral body Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is reconstituted by removing some of its officials. The presidential election re-run is set for 17 October 2017. Photo: Dai Kurokawa/(EPA)

Op-Ed: Kenya’s struggle to execute a peaceful vote

By RYAN CUMMINGS
Photo: Burundian police officers stand guard at the scene of a double grenade attack in the capital Bujumbura, Burundi, in this file photo taken on 23 May 2015. Photo: Dai Kurokawa/(EPA)

The SADC Wrap: DRC soldiers kill refugees, Tanzania’s gay arrests, and Zim stock exchange’s odd highs

By KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
Photo: A file photo dated 25 April 2016 showing a group of the 195 opposition soldiers arriving with General Simon Gatwech Dual, the chief of staff of the South Sudan rebel troops, in Juba, South Sudan. Reports on 10 July 2016 said hundreds were killed in two days of renewed fighting between supporters of President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar. The UN Security Council condemned the fighting that erupted in Juba, the worst violence since a peace deal was signed in 2015 and forming the national unity government in April this year. Photo: EPA/PHILLIP DHIL

ISS Today: South Sudan needs more than a hybrid court

By ISS TODAY
Photo: An undated handout file photograph made available on 04 March 2016 by the North Korean news agency KCNA shows the test-firing of new-type large-caliber multiple launch rocket system by the North Korean military. Tensions between North Korea and the west have intensified due to the west's implimentation of economic sanctions in response to North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and test firing of delivery systems. Photo: EPA/KCNA

Op-Ed: Nuclear disarmament – why the world should follow Africa’s lead

By SARAH SWART
Photo: Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of Togo, speaks during an Opening Statement to the 31st session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland, 29 February 2016. EPA/SANDRO CAMPARDO

ISS Today: No time to waste in implementing Togo’s reforms

By ISS TODAY
Photo: Arafat Gatabazi is a long-distance open water swimmer. He came to South Africa from the DRC as a child, and lived in a shelter until 2015. Photo supplied

GroundUp: From war in DRC to swimming the open ocean

By GroundUp
Photo: A 9-metre bronze statue of the late former South African President Nelson Mandela is unveiled as part of the Day of Reconciliation Celebrations at the Union Buildings in Pretoria December 16, 2013. Photo Thomas Mukoya/(Reuters)

Op-Ed: Mugabe should criticise South Africa, not Mandela

By Mondli Zondo
Photo: A young internally Displaced Person (IDP) looks on from her family's makeshift shelter in an IDP camp in the outskirts of Qardho in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland, on 26 March 2017. The food crisis caused by lack of rainfall in the region affects 5.6 million people in Ethiopia, according to the Red Cross. Photo Dai Kurokawa/(EPA)

ISS Today: Africa must call for climate change solidarity at the UN

By ISS TODAY
Photo: In this file photo, Kimberly Process monitor, Abbey Chikane, holds the Zimbabwe Kimberly certificate during the relaunch of its diamond exports from its eastern Chiadzwa fields in Eastern Zimbabwe during an event in Harare on 11 August 2010. Zimbabwe was given authority to sell diamonds from Marange and was then auctioning 4.5-million carats. Photo: Aaron Ufumeli/(EPA)

Zimbabwe: Marange diamond fields firms ‘captured’ by sinister spooks, state elites

By KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
Photo: Lesotho’s army chief was murdered last week. In this file photo dated 5 August 2014, Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane arrives in the White House in Washington DC. Photo Michael Reynolds/(EPA).

The SADC Wrap: Shootings in Lesotho and Tanzania, and Angola’s opposition challenges vote tally

By KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
Gerald-OpenletterGrace.jpg

An open letter to Grace Mugabe – hear the call of your ‘children’

By GERALD DZAWO
Photo: Supporters in the Luanda district attend a campaign rally by Unita presidential candidate Isaias Samakuva, in the buildup to the Angolan elections on 23 August. Photo: Manuel De Almeida/(EPA)

ISS Today: Angola’s elections trigger a crisis of legitimacy

By ISS TODAY
Photo: Mothers with severely malnourished babies wait for medicine to be dispensed in the Nutritional Rehabilitation Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, Friday 14 October 2005. Photo: EPA/JON HRUSA

amaBhungane: Millions drained from Malawi’s public health system

By AMABHUNGANE
Photo: On 3 September, two days after the Supreme Court overturned the election result, presidential candidate Raila Odinga waves at his supporters in Mathare in Nairobi. Photo: Daniel Irungu/(EPA)

ISS Today: Kenyatta, Odinga more keen than ever to win

By ISS TODAY
Main photo: A woman poses with Liberian flags during the National Flag Day in Monrovia, Liberia, 24 August 2017. Liberians celebrate the flag's design and the republic for the first time in 1847. EPA-EFE/AHMED JALLANZO

Op-Ed: Liberia’s elections – challenges, change and continuity

By Greg Mills
Photo: With barely any government structures, people have learnt to fend for themselves in remote communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here DRC president Joseph Kabila is photographed in Kinshasa on 19 February 2015. Photo: Michael Kappeler/(EPA)

ISS Today: Protecting livelihoods is key to mining the DRC’s riches

By ISS TODAY
Photo: An Egyptian currency vendor counts US dollar notes in Cairo, November 2016. Photo: Khaled Elfiqi/(EPA)

Op-Ed: African countries must collaborate to fix tax challenges

By Logan Wort
Photo: Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa during the signing of the Lesotho Electoral Pledge at Lehakoe Recreational and Cultural Centre in, Lesotho. December 2014 (Photo: DOC)

Lesotho: Political tensions run high following army shootings

By PETER FABRICIUS & KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
Photo: A white rhino and her calf on a game farm in the Waterberg district, some 350km north-west of Johannesburg, South Africa, 08 September 2010. Photo: EPA/JON HRUSA

ISS Today: Wildlife crime – Why diverse data will drive better responses

By ISS TODAY
Photo: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (L) accompanied by his wife Grace (R) arrive at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, Zimbabwe, 26 August 2017. Mugabe attended the joint burial of Politburo member George Rutanhire and Maud Muzenda, the widow of Zimbabwe’s first Vice Prime Minister Simon Muzenda. EPA-EFE/AARON UFUMELI

The SADC Wrap: Former Lesotho deputy PM flees to SA, Zanu-PF supports Grace, and Zambia’s ‘silent emergency’

By KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

Lesotho: Main shareholder of a large company accused of ‘extensive manipulation of financial statements’

By MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism
Photo: Dr Sylvanus Ayeni at a school on his recent lecture tour of Nigeria. Photo: Supplied

Op-Ed: Turning Africa’s lights on should be a homegrown priority

By GEOFF HILL