₦airaland Forum

I forgot to ask, did Tinubu approve this letter?

Freedom from Fulani domination!

ariesbull:
Open letter to the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Said and the Fulani leaders

August 08, 2019

The Sultan of Sokoto and Fulani Leader
His Eminence Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad

THE STATE OF THE NATION
We write this letter to you considering your importance as the head of the Fulani people in Nigeria. You are also the head of Fulani Muslims in Nigeria.It is our hope that you will be able to share the thoughts expressed here with the 7 million Fulani people in Nigeria through your traditional means of communication.

We write to honour you with this letter, given the floundering opportunities for a dialogue on the future of Nigeria, which has eluded the various ethnic groups in Nigeria and which may not enhance itself too soon.

Given the drumbeats of armed violence and extremism perpetrated largely by your people, and the fleeting prospects of a national dialogue, we hope this letter will not be the last opportunity to constructively engage you and the Fulani nation.

We, on behalf of Apapo Oodua Koya, (AOKOYA), a coalition of several Itsekiri, Edo and Yoruba groups write with our deepest feelings about the Nigerian state and what appears to be the pitfalls that lay ahead, most of which are oiled and orchestrated by your own people, the Fulani, albeit consciously.

THE PAST

There was no history of Fulani in today’s territory until 1804. This was 800 years after the Yoruba Kingdoms had been established, about 600 years after the Hausa, Ijaw, Tiv, Igala, Junkun Kingdoms had flourished. The Igbo Nation had existed for centuries before your people wandered into this hemisphere.
We recall that your forebears came to power through brutal and bloody conquest of indigenous peoples in many parts of Northern Nigeria under the guise of Islam even though Islam had taken firm roots in Yorubaland, Kano and Bornu Empires as early as the 11th century.

Since your sojourn in Nigeria, you have been very lucky.

A whole country of over 300 ethnic groups, was handed over to you a foreigner, first through conquest of some of its part, you, who never owned an inch of land centuries earlier in this hemisphere.

You have reaped the fruits which trees you did not plant and you knew not when they were planted.

Moreso, you were from a family of wanderers and your emergence as Emir and traditional ruler was unusual, having no royal blood in your veins ab initio.

No doubt, You succeeded in taking over the land, the main means of production of these innocent peoples whose main offence was that they were too caring, too gentle, too subservient and accommodating of foreigners in their ancestral homeland, Today, you sit on a throne soaked with the blood of millions of innocent souls anguished with deafening ears to the agony of the spirit of millions of victims of the horrendous killings by your men, who came from Fouta Jallon in Senegal, only some 210 years ago.

The British left in 1960 and you emerged as the main benefactor eventhough your people were not known to have fought for independence.

You were wise enough to plant your people in the security institutions, a reflection of your preference for force and brigandage instead of a knowledge-driven society.

Through direct military intervention or subterfuge, sly plots, you have been ruling Nigeria, or determining who rule Nigeria since 1960. This is a rare luck that only courageous people can manage for some time, but needs wise, intelligent, decent and conscientious people to manage for a millennium.

Under the false, artificial creation called Nigeria, your people produce no oil, yet you appropriate and decide how the resources should be expended.

You have no access to the Ocean, yet you decide which goods should be imported and which vessel should ply routes that indigenous owners of this God given oceans had been using for centuries.

All the military weapons were bought not by your money, but you decide who should use them and who should be killed by the same weapons. You have no rich scholarly tradition, yet your people sit on the Nigerian Universities Commission, (NUC) and decide the faith of other Nigerians.

You located all the military institutions in your land, more out of fear than out of love for justice and fairplay.

90 percent of Nigerian resources are sourced from the South and Middle Belt, yet you decide how the funds should be spent. Did you think this irresponsible way of life will continue for ever? Did your people think we are foolish and even if we are, did you think coming generations will accept this brazen exploitation? We have called for dialogue on these issues, but you call it treason.

The truth is that you have grossly mismanaged this opportunity. Your ruinous and destructive tradition has robbed on all Nigerians. Your intuition for aggression has become a national culture. Your disdain for debate and logical criticisms has been imbibed by Nigerians who continue to gravitate towards the custodians of political power, whose way of life must be imbibed for recognition.

You have ruined and destroyed this whole nation at your beckon due to your exclusive, narrow, primordial and savage instincts driven only by your self interest and your brutal and non-negotiable desire to conquer and subdue every nationality in Nigeria. This is a tall task which you are hell bent in executing.

THE INVASION OF YORUBALAND BY FULANI HERDSMEN

We like to caution you on your latest antics to renew your grand 1804 design to conquer the entire country, not through ideas but through the most savage tradition of killings and maiming.

This to us is at the bottom of the current Fulani kidnapping in Yorubaland. We wish to inform you that we are aware of your grand plan to renew a project done half way and put on mute mode since the defeat of your forces in 1840 by the Yoruba Army.

We are worried that you and your Fulani people have been suspiciously silent on the kidnapping of Yoruba people, the killing of our young professionals including the killing of the daughter of a prominent Yoruba leader.

We were not surprised that you and the other Fulani leaders did not consider it necessary to send condolence messages or even visit the family of the slain woman. This can only mean your tacit approval or at least, a philosophy of cold compromise.

Please be aware that in the past two years, records show that 689 Yoruba people have been kidnapped by your people, Fulani, about 400 reported cases of rape, including rape of toddlers. Out of this number of the kidnapped, 356 were women, and out of that number, 250 were married women.

In all, 112 people were killed by your Fulani people either for resisting kidnap or for failing to pay ransom. This may mean nothing to you, but to us, it means a lot.

We urge you to imagine a group of armed Yoruba cocoa farmers storming forests in Kano, Katsina and Sokoto, kidnapping Fulani people, raping their young girls and even killing the daughter of an Emir or a prominent Fulani leader? Can you also imagine the same heavily armed Yoruba cocoa farmers occupying your forests, stopping your people from farming and preventing your people from plying the highways in their ancestral homes?

To make the matter worse, imagine the armed Yoruba cocoa farmers carry out these terrible crimes under the banner of a Yoruba man as the Nigerian President. How will you feel?
As it is, your people, the Fulani are digging their hands down our throats. They are entering our bedrooms and sleeping with our mothers and wives. These actions are not only against Islam, they are against humanity.

These latest actions plus our experiences in the past have combined to renew the energy of millions of Yoruba people who want a country of their own. Either you like it or not, this will happen. God, before whom you and your big crown are like but a filthy rag, will make it happen.

We urge you to prepare your self to dialogue or if you chose the path of violence, there will be proportional response. Having Yoruba or Igbo Republics is something you do not wish to hear, but which is imminent and inevitable.

Please be aware that the Yoruba do not begrudge your values and the ways of your living, all we are saying is that we want to live our lives, design our political and cultural architecture, live and die on our own terms.

The forthcoming Yoruba Republic will be glad to accommodate righteous Fulani people who respect our civilisations and the laws of our fatherland.

We wish to use this opportunity to advice you and your people to be aware that you have no power to conquer Yoruba Nation. Your forebears tried and failed. Your military and political surrogates tried, marked with killings, maiming and destruction of our economy, yet they failed.

We ask you to instruct your people, the armed Fulani herdsmen to withdraw from Yoruba territories and on their own, mop up the cache of arms and ammunition stored in Yoruba territories.

Sir, the Yoruba people stand for peace and not war. We would prefer these issues to be resolved amicably without firing any gun shot. But, we wish to say that if your heart remains rebellious and your soul defiant, the Yoruba people are not afraid to confront you once again the way we did some 175 years ago, this time in the most ferocious manner you can ever imagine. It is necessary to let you know this even though we are aware that you will not change the conquest desires of your heart.

We wish you a happy Salah and Allah’s wisdom to know and do what is right.
Yours Sincerely,
Col Abimbola Sowumi (rtd)
Mallam Salau Ahmed Akorede
For Apapo Oodua Koya, (AOKOYA)
The Yoruba self determination group

Excellent letter.
How did I miss it
It should be made available to every school child in Nigeria, because it contains so much history ordinary folks have since forgotten.

Wonder why Iwu is now being prosecuted for an allegedly 5 to 6 year old crime, and only when he seems to supportive of Atiku's court case? It's called intimidation of witness in most civilized societies, and Fulani long memory in Nigeria!

Richardmary:
Akụkọ mbe agaba

Where is Fr. Mbaka when you need him to teach this pastor how to deceive folks?

Danjuma sounds exactly like Ojukwu pleading with Gowon to stop killing Igbo civilians in 1966.

Pathetic!

wirinet:
How come you say unseen hands were determined to foist Fulani hegemony on Nigeria and at the same time 67% of Nigerian army officer's cader were Igbos. How would that have been possible?

If 67% of Nigerian army officer's cader we Igbos at that time, why weren't 67% of officers killed during the January coup Igbos?

Gowon, Danjuma and other northern soldiers retaliated only against Igbo officers, it was the northern masses that killed innocent Igbo civilians. Although you could accuse Gowon of not doing enough to stop the killings.

Igbos, their way of life, religion, and independence have always been greatest hindrance to British and Fulani colonization.
Today, Gowon, Danjuma, and other willing Middle Belters and Fulani sympathizers have seen the same light Igbos saw 60 years ago.

The first strike was when Sarduana ordered the commanding officer in Jos to violently put down a Tiv rebellion, the Igbo officer, Col. Anuforo refused the order at the risk of his own life and safety. How did Tivs pay back? Oh, by sending J.S Tarka to the US to falsely campaign against the Igbos just like Danjuma and Gowon(middle belters) were equally convinced to side with their mortal enemy the Fulanis against the protective Igbos.

Don't forget, Gowon was strategically made head of state, to appease the short sighted Middle belters, though he was not the most senior officer to occupy that position, it should have been Ogundipe, but Gowon was however the most easily influenced by the hidden Fulani hands--coming from all over desert west Africa and north Africa!
Till today, Gowon still could not even understand the bigger picture, just like Danjuma.

The coup did not go as planned, no question, and without making excuses for the people involved, I still want to know why it descended into murdering civilians in cold blood just because they answered Igbo names?

If you continue to make lame excuses for Gowon and his government being unable to stop the well planned "civilian" massacre of Igbos, then you're laying the foundation stone for the massacre of another tribe in the future.

While we wait for Gowon and Danjuma's official account of the coup, it's sad to see persistent distortion of history and abuse of common sense in this reasoning.

Labeling it Igbo coup was a long formulated Fulani plan to use people like Danjuma, even the adjunctant officer did not take control of events all by himself, he was following a plan, long designed by unseen hands determined to foist Fulani hegemony on Nigeria.

Of course the Igbos made their own mistakes, because they were never really organized as portrayed by unseen Fulani masterminds. If they were organized, why would some Igbo officers like Ojukwu be fighting the coupists, his own people?

If you had 67% of Nigerian army officer's cader as Igbos at that time, simple statistics would tell you that you couldn't have a coup without having majority of them identified as Igbos.

Nevertheless, there were Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Tiv, Ijaw, Idoma, and Nupe officers involved in that coup, but it was easier to label it Igbo coup, especially after it failed in some parts of the country.

While history would forgive Gowon and Danjuma for retaliating against Igbo officers, God in heaven would never forgive these inept and mediocre officers for the massacre of helpless children, women, and old people simply because they were Igbos.

Whoever supported the genocide against Igbos, because of the coup allegedly planned by Igbo officers in 1966, should also support a genocide against Fulanis, because Fulani herdsmen have been actually terrorizing fellow Nigerians without any provocation today.

MelesZenawi:
Editor's note: In this piece sent to Legit.ng, Anayo M. Nwosu writes on the relationship between the Rivers people and Igbos.
Nwosu believes the Igbos owe the people of Rivers state a long standing apology which must be tendered to foster better relationship between the two ethnic groups.

Mazi Kiwe left Nnewi in 1927 with his maternal uncle to Port Harcourt to learn carpentry.
He served his master for seven good years before he was "settled" or freed to start his own workshop.
Igwe Ocha was renamed Port Harcourt by the colonial government.
It was the main port for export of slaves and palm produce.
Many warriors in the hinterlands had their human barns or warehouses at Igwe Ocha where they would keep human beings kidnapped from their towns in the mainland and gradually be selling them into slavery to the Europeans.

The big slave merchants have empowered buying agents who have gangs of strong men moving round the towns to kidnap able-bodied men and women for onward movement to Igwe Ocha for sales.
Some unfortunate slavery victims were beaten to submission while many died as they resisted being captured.
Relatives were known to have conspired to sell their fellow siblings into slavery in other to inherit the victims' wives or land; or out of sheer jealousy or envy.
On that fateful evening, Mazi Kiwe greeted Pa Douglas Lookman as usual and steadied his attention on his chisel as he worked on chairs he must deliver to a client the next day.
His customer was a temperamental type who had paid upfront for the furniture delivery.
"Pa Douglas, I'm so busy as you can see and cannot play drought now, I have an urgent delivery of a pair of chairs to make tomorrow morning" Kiwe told his older friend.
But Douglas didn't come to play drought that evening.
He had found Kiwe very trustworthy enough to tell him his well guarded secret.
He left to return the next day.

"Kiwe my son", Pa Douglas began, "I have observed you for some years now and have come to trust you". Kiwe was confused as he had never seen his old friend in such a sober mood.
"I could tell from your accent that you are from Otolo Nnewi" Kiwe was shocked by such allusion as they had never discussed his village before this time.


Kiwe was particularly surprised because everybody in the yard knew that Pa Douglas hated Igbo people.
Pa Douglas openly would rain invective on Igbo race on slightest provocation hence making most Igbo co-tenants to avoid him.
"I know you are shocked by my statement, don't be because my mother was from Otolo and I can tell all the dialects in Nnewi" , he continued.
"Who are you Pa Douglas?" Kiwe charged. "I will never listen to you until you reveal your real identity, perhaps you are okara madu okara muo or superhuman".
"Is Dim Ohachie still alive?" Kiwe's skin instantly grew goose pimples.

Every Nnewi youth was rattled upon hearing that name. The hearing of the of name "Dim Ohachi" could make a sleeping man wake up and scale a fence for safety.
"Dim Ohachie was my uncle, he sold me into slavery; I'm from Okpuno Nnewichi Nnewi" , Pa Douglas said and started crying.
"Why didn't you go back when slavery was abolished by the colonial government? You can go back now" Kiwe advised.
"I can never go back to Nnewi; he will kill me if he hears that I returned; not after acquiring my father's land, palm trees and breadfruits.
"Besides, Dim Ohachie was onyemuo na afu uzo or a living evil spirit who has turned grasses and roots into his messengers.
"How else can I explain the method he used to capture me and sold me into slavery?
"I can vividly recall that he sent for me and I arrived at his house but what happened thereafter and how I ended up at Igwe Ocha, I could not remember till date.


"I was not the only one he sold from our village; after the ban on slavery and our eventual freedom, some settled in Ikwerre while I decided to live in Okirika.
"My real name is Anaka and my dead father's name is Nwokekeke. I had to change my names to Douglas Lookman to break away from my past.
"So my son, you can see why many of us were betrayed and sold by our relations from our various Igbo towns hate you and the children of our wicked relations.
"I have related my story to my children and have urged them to avenge my humiliation because an injury to one is an injury to all" , Pa Douglas ended with a heart full of vengeance.
Until the whole Igbo people in the hinterlands openly and genuinely apologize to our brothers in Ikwerre, Obiakpor, Okirika, Port Harcourt and to those inhabiting the creeks of Rivers state, their hatred and inclination to have a pound of flesh on Igbos in the main land shall never abate.
Their ancestors told them of the atrocities perpetrated against them by their relations who sold them off into slavery in the most callous way.
The heartless seizure of Igbo landed properties by Rivers people during and after Biafran war as
"abandoned properties" was in retaliation of the injustice suffered by their ancestors.
The mindless taking of the abandoned properties belonging to the Igbo's was considered a tit for tat for loss of land in the Igbo mainland by their forefathers to the greedy relatives and slave merchants.
The Igbo leaders shouldn't gloss over the injustices of the past.
Apology needs to be tendered.
Who knows? Some of our brothers, upon genuine appeasement, might be touched to return the seized properties of their fellow Biafrans.
With a genuine reconciliation, Rumuokoro and other Igbo cities corrupted with "R" prefix by post-civil war government of Rivers state may be changed to their Igbo identity.
Truth be told, our forefathers were very very mean to our brothers.



https://www.legit.ng/1087892-opinion-why-rivers-state-indigenes-hate-igbos.html

100% distortion!

Reminds me of encounters with black Americans who have one reason or another to hate Africans, and Nigerians in particular.

They would actually say things like, "your ancestors forcibly sold our own ancestors into slavery, and now you have voluntarily undertaken the cross Atlantic journey just to take our jobs, welfare, and girls"

Had a bet with my friends on this topic!

To prove that NL is now run by Fulani herdsmen, or not.

Test:
Topic will be hidden, or moved to crime where it will have less exposure, unlike other threads of the same topic on politics section==>Fulani
Topic will be allowed to supplement similar threads already on politics==> Neutral and professional moderator

And the result is
You know the answer.

Ready to be banned and exit NL.

stefanbanach:
Did you see any cattle in the scene?

I'm asking you. Where are the cows?

I see a few cows inside Tinubu's babariga!

Waiting for Tinubu to rationalize this one too.

Herdsmen stab 49-year-old farmer to death in Ogun


ON JULY 14, 20199:01 PMIN NEWSBY ADEKUNLE FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsAppPinterestShare By Daud Olatunji ABEOKUTA-

Residents of Adao community in Alabata area of Odeda Local government in Ogun state were thrown into confusion on Sunday when two suspected herdsmen reportedly stabbed a 49-year-old farmer, Rafiu Showemimo to death.


It was gathered that the suspected herdsmen accosted the farmer and stabbed him in the neck on his way back home from the farm around 12 noon . It was gathered that a 76- year -old man had two weeks ago escaped death after suspected herdsmen macheted him in the head . The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi could not be reached as of the time of filing this report . Pandemonium in Nasarawa as vigilance group, traders clash(Opens in a new browser tab) However, the Olu of Alabata, Chief Sanusi Waheed who oversees the affected Adao community as one of his consenting communities, among others stressed the need for quick government’s intervention to abort the plans of the youths to foment trouble adding that the herders had crossed their boundaries. He said ” The Fulanis have crossed their boundaries and we can’t condole them anymore.

We would do all within our powers in communicating our plight to the government”. When our correspondent visited the community, the youths were sighted standing at strategic points in their numbers and armed with local guns, cutlasses and charms. Vanguard

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/07/herdsmen-stab-49-year-old-farmer-to-death-in-ogun/

kelvine:
High on Drugs

Clearly looks like it!
Not only should he be banned for violating many rules, but I will not be surprised if the mods place him on FP tomorrow. This is their World.

BishopMagic:
Since Funke Olakunrin murder the wheels of propaganda have been on full spin with many Yoruba Muslims and their BMC colleagues reiterating the official narrative from Aso Rock as espoused by Femi Adesina that the daughter of Afenifere chieftain was killed by armed robbers .

Adeyinka Grandson of the Odua e-rebel movement claimed that she was murdered by Igbos . How the Buhari sponsored afonja arrived at that conclusion only tells you who (is paying him (Grandson) to spew trash.


Some zombies, in their desperate bid to deflect from Fulani terrorists , stated that the late Funke was actually assassinated, and in their usual APC vs PDP stupidity are fingering the PDP .

Now if we go by the assassination theory as formulated by the half brained zombies , who will want to kill Funke?

The only people I can think of is Tinubu and Buhari .

Funke would have been murdered to send a message to her father (Foransati) to stop exposing the Fulani occupation of Yoruba land .

Tinubu is not exempted either as Tinubu has balkanized Afenifere and is in full control of a faction that is both pro Buhari and pro Rugs.

Tinubu and Buhari will both want to silence Afenifere over their Ruga nonsense .

Hold Tinubu and Buhari for this murder !

You have been vindicated by Tinubu's statement this morning

CXLVII:
As in! Dem dey hawk the matter like Gala

No wonder, you could only operate the strike function on the keyboard.
I see now, English is not easy for you!
Maybe, you should write in Fulani if that would help.

babaolofin:
IBOs are always on rampage

Changing the subject to IBO will not help this beautiful young Yoruba lady who has just been killed?
Did blaming IBOs help you find who has been terrorizing Yorubaland?
Ask Chief Olu Falae!

Tinubu did not really come for condolence, he came to spread a political message, muddy the water a little bit, and of course divert attention away from Fulani herdsmen-his paymasters.
However, pertinent questions are begging for answers:

1. Has Evans been convicted and sentenced of the crimes in question?
2. Like Evans, we have other criminals from Yoruba, hausa, Ijaw, etc facing the law as required, right? Why are alleged Fulani criminal not in court?
3. Where are the "criminals" who have attempted to kill Olu Falea in his farm many times now?
4. Any idea who's occupying major parts of Ondo forest?
5. Has anyone solved the many cases of unsolved herdsmen robbery, rape, and vandalism in Yoruba land, and other parts of the country?

This shows that like corruption, petty theft, and credit card fraud, causing political confusion for short term gain is another lesson learned by Tinubu from Chicago.

Maybe, that was Evans too, according to Tinubu

Tinubu did not come for condolence, he came to spread a political message, muddy the water a little bit, and of course divert attention away from Fulani herdsmen.
However, pertinent questions are begging for answers:

1. Has Evans been convicted and sentenced of the crimes in question?
2. Like Evans, we have other criminals from Yoruba, hausa, Ijaw, etc facing the law as required, right? Why are alleged Fulani criminal not in court?
3. Where are the "criminals" who have attempted to kill Olu Falea in his farm many times now?
4. Any idea who's occupying major parts of Ondo forest?
5. Has anyone solved the many cases of unsolved herdsmen robbery, rape, and vandalism in Yoruba land, and other parts of the country?

This shows that like corruption, petty theft, and credit card fraud, causing political confusion for short term gain is another lesson learned by Tinubu from Chicago.

@poster,
while you have tried to bring information related to transplant cost, I am afraid that in a country with so little education and information, full of superstitious use of human parts for rituals, your thread; it's title and content does more harm than good.

You mischievously post "What some of human organs and parts are worth in the black market"-a misleading caption that gives credence to the facts, that yes, there a market where some body parts are worth plenty of money.

The truth is that the figures you showed include, and mostly made of of hospital, doctors, nursing care, medications, and equipment. There is no hospital that has a price for any organ, yes organs are not paid for in US hospitals. I know, because I am in the industry. There are however costs for services, medications, and equipment that arise from transplantation. Look up the red cross or United organ net work UNOS to ascertain the truth.

Please modify or remove this thread, because it's not only misleading, but capable of endangering lives of innocent people who may think that the organs will automatically fetch such an outrageous amount. And falsely too!

@moderator-pls note!

NPF is now the armed wing of APC

FlirtyKaren:
Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State has been lauded by indigenes of the state for driving himself to work.

According to Instagram user @itsdolapojulius, Governor Rauf Aregbesola who is preparing to round off his tenure, insisted on driving himself to the office yesterday evening. His post reads;

SUN DOWN, MAN IN POWER

He insisted on driving himself to the office yesterday evening lest he gets rusty on the wheel. Lol.


https://lailasnews.com/rauf-aregbesola-lauded-by-osun-indigenes-driving-himself-to-work/

Wonderful!
Congratulations for driving yourself governor.
@poster, please let us know when chews and swallows the food put into his mouth by political assistants and aids, next when he defecates , and then if he should pass any gas in between so that we can fire the necessary and compulsory 21-gun salute!

Buhari's security chiefs are not incompetent; to say so means you have no idea who Buhari is: the security chiefs are simply obedient, following the president's every order!

INEC is hiding sometin!

Yes, God save us!

Let's not forget the anatomical and physiological differences between a 41 year old ruler and say a 71 year old ruler.
At 41, the ruler is likely at his peak in terms of energy, short term memory/thinking fast, stamina, vision, and perception.
These functions are greatly impaired in most 71 year olds, unfortunately, in Africa we tolerate them, because we worship personalities, and cult figures, not concepts or ideas.

Who will rescue us!

If God loves Nigeria, and wants us to survive as nation, here's the formula!

https://qz.com/1334958/how-abiy-ahmed-transformed-ethiopia-in-100-days/?utm_source=YPL&yptr=yahoo


The changes are nothing short of seismic, proof that nothing remains the same forever.
In just over 100 days, Ethiopia’s new prime minister Abiy Ahmed has taken radical steps aimed at dismantling the country’s troubled past and paving the way for a new future. After years of protests, state killings, ethnic violence, internet shutdowns, and emergency rules, the Horn of Africa nation has made an astonishing and promising turnaround for the better.

Abiy Ahmed, the newly elected chair of the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is sworn in as the country's Prime Minister, Monday, April 2, 2018. Ethiopia's legislature has elected young and outspoken Abiy Amhed as prime minister, amid hopes that he will be able to quell sustained anti-government protests in Africa's second most populous nation.


Abiy, Africa’s youngest leader at 41, has overseen all this, taking a sledgehammer’s approach in order to establish quick and lasting change on both the local and foreign levels. Domestically, Abiy’s administration announced it would loosen its monopoly on several key economic sectors, including aviation and telecoms. This has reportedly prompted Kenya’s Safaricom to negotiate the entry of its dominant mobile money service M-Pesa in the country. Politically, in a nation where all parliament seats are held by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, Abiy has urged the nation to pursue multiparty democracy.

Abiy’s administration also freed prominent opposition leaders and journalists, including Andargachew Tsege, a British citizen who was seized during a stopover in Yemen in 2014.

But it’s Abiy’s work across the east and Horn of Africa region that have brought a sharp focus to his reformist politics. In June, Abiy went to Egypt to assure president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi—in Arabic nonetheless—that Egypt won’t cut its share of the Nile waters. The hugs and smiles that followed the meeting showcased a significant step to breaking the deadlock over who controls the world’s longest river. On his flight home, Abiy brought with him 32 Ethiopian inmates freed from Egyptian prisons.

After decades of political and military impasse, Abiy also announced Ethiopia would accept a 2000 peace deal with Eritrea. That announcement cascaded in a series of events that ended the hostility between the two nations and captured the world and storytellers’ attention. These include the reopening of embassies, the resumption of trade, and the reunification of friends and family after the first commercial flight from Ethiopia crossed into Eritrean airspace this century last week.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki (R) attend the re-opening of the Eritrean embassy in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a brief ceremony 16 July 2018. The leaders declared their 'state of war' over one week ago and Isaias spent the weekend in Ethiopia. Eritrea reopened its embassy in Ethiopia 16 July in further evidence of a rapid thaw between two countries that a week ago ended two decades of military stalemate over a border war in which tens of thousands died.

Abiy also presided over the first meeting in two years between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his bitter rival, Riek Machar, in an effort to end the five-year civil war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.

With his youthful popularity, Abiy has also become a sort of consigliere of cool, appearing at a concert with Eritrean strongman Isaias Afwerki, and scheduling a dinner date with the famous humanoid robot, Sophia, some of whose software was developed in Ethiopia. He has also appeared at rallies wearing a t-shirt with a Nelson Mandela fist-clinched photo above a slogan that read, “No one is free until the last one is free.”

While many challenges await Abiy after this honeymoon period is over, the reformist politician is proving to be the bearer of good news for now, not only Ethiopia but the region and Africa at large. This week, he will take this message of hope and unity to the diaspora in the United States, where many, including marathoner Feyisa Lilesa, remain hopeful about the change of guard in their home nation.

Khd95:
igbo amaka oooh

Yes, oh!
Guess who are her customers? A woman has to make a living in Buhari's corrupt Nigeria.

sarrki:
We need attitudinal changes in our society first

Buhari is not the cause of your problem

When the fish starts rotting from the head, nothing will be spared.
Buhari is the head of Nigeria, so all problems, disorders, criminality, and corruption lead directly to him.
If this republic fails it will be his fault 100%, and to a lesser degree those of his praise singers like you.
1984 easily comes to mind.