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Politics › Re: Reno Omokri Reacts To IGP Ibrahim Idris' Speech Blunder With (See Tweets) by meccuno: 8:44am On May 17, 2018
Sirjamo:
I challenge you to post the pictures of all your English test at school, and I will also post mine.
How else should I had construct it? What did Reno tweeting? you are a big fool.
chaii.......e pain am grin grin grin
Politics › Re: US Embassy, Jerusalem: Does Pres. Denial Mean Nigeria Is Now An Islamic State? by meccuno: 8:00am On May 16, 2018
[s]
Throwback:
Cameroun has been rightly decided legally to be the owner of Bakassi. The Europeans carved out the countries in Africa, and their documents already suggest that Bakassi is part of Cameroun, so enough of the complaint over what you never put in place to begin with.

Why would I complain over how such judgement was given by the world court that relied on documentary evidence?

The people of Bakassi own their land, but the land is within the territorial boundary of Cameroun. So the people should have accepted to become Camerounians after the judgment, just as some other villages along the Northern borders with Cameroun were also swapped in both directions between the 2 contesting countries.

Palestine is the owner of their section of Jerusalem while Israel is the owner of its own occupied section.

Even till now, the Jews themselves know that they cannot claim ownership of all of Jerusalem.

It is the Jews that modern history of the last 150yrs records as having migrated to the region known as Palestine to buy lands from the land owning Arabs who were the majority on the land, with a very insignificant minority Jews existing.

The Jews were allowed to form the present Israel from the land of Palestine, as war refugees who had escaped the persecutions in Europe and as Zionist migrant who had bought various parcels of land from the Arab land owners. The Palestine region was till that time, a British mandate, so the UK allowed the Jewish settlers to carve out the areas of Palestine that they bought or already populated as natives.

And upon forming their own nation state, have prevented the native Palestinians from having a country of their own on their own land that they have existed for over a thousand years, long before the Europeans formed USA or the Anglo-Saxons departed mainland Europe to dominate as the present English tribe over the original Britons of Britain. Even long before these same English tribe later departed Britain to settle in New Zealand or Australia, the Arabs have existed as the natives of Palestine with no country or nation called Israel existing. Also long before the Jewish refugees began arriving from Ukraine, Poland, Austria etc, to occupy land that had been bought by the Zionists from Arab natives.


If the current nation of Israel was allowed to exist as a creation of post world war 2 Jewish refugee crises, why not remain within the undisputed boundaries of that nation? Why extend into Arab lands that were never sold to Jewish Zionists that planned to establish Israel and that were never populated by the minority Jews that also were native to Palestine before the Zionism agenda started?


Why must the land grabbing by the refugee Jews be tolerated after they had been allowed to establish a nation inside Palestine, within a boundary that was not contested with them?

Drop the religious garb and embrace objectivity in your argument.

Or are you saying that even Israel is mad to admit that Eastern Jerusalem is a territory of the Arab Palestine?

Ask yourself a simple question. What has stopped Israel from occupying the whole of Jerusalem as a capital city since the current state of Israel had been created since 1948 after the 2nd world war Jewish refugee crisis?

Have you even bothered to look at the ethnic and religious composition of the state of Israel? The Jews are unable to get rid of the Arab Muslim and Arab Christian land owners that still exist as natives within the very heart of undisputed Jewish territory.
[/s] trash as usual
Celebrities › Re: Tonto Dikeh At Shepherd Bushiri's Church In South Africa (Photos) by meccuno: 5:10pm On May 15, 2018
[s]
ybalogs:
*C - O - U - U - U - R - T!!!*

Judge : Why do you want divorce?

Petitioner : My wife asks me to peel off garlic, cut onions, wash utensils and clothes.

Judge: So what's the problem in this? Just warm up the Garlic, it will be easy to peel it. Before cutting Onions, just chill them in the refrigerator and then while cutting them the eyes won't burn. Before washing utensils just immerse them in water tub for 10 minutes , they can be easily washed. And before washing clothes in Surf, soak them in water for half an hour, all the stains will go away and even hands won't get tired.

Petitioner: I Understood Your honour. I would like to withdraw my petition.

Judge: What have you understood?

Petitioner: That your condition is worse than mine. Don't laff alone. Share.
[/s] huh huh huh huh
Politics › Re: Senator Akpabio Commissions faculty Of Engineering Theatre Block In Unical by meccuno: 8:57pm On May 11, 2018
WTFhuh huh huh huh huh
Politics › Re: How To Make Nigeria Great(give Your Opinion) by meccuno: 5:05pm On May 10, 2018
divide it
Politics › Re: The Willinks Report by meccuno: 6:11pm On May 08, 2018
funny people
Politics › Re: Abia:three Years After Under Gov. Ikpeazu (pt1). by meccuno: 2:00pm On May 08, 2018
Ofodirinwa:
You won't show the progress, just his fat neck
cool cool grin grin grin
Travel › Re: Pastor Survives Ghastly Motor Accident In Akwa Ibom State. Photos by meccuno: 1:38pm On May 07, 2018
KingOvo:
It is God's will grin
cheesy cheesy grin grin grin cheesy cheesy
Politics › Re: Sowore: Tinubu, Others Used To Hide While We Faced The Military In The 90's by meccuno: 10:33am On May 04, 2018
[s]
chilariye:
THE POWER OF INTEGRITY

He snubbed Angela Markel in White House; refusing to shake her hands in oval office.
He shocked President Al Sisi of Egypt. Told him point blank in WH that he will cut aid to Egypt.
He called North Korean leader Kim Jung Un , the 'Rocket Man'.
He has chastised President Putin. Heaping sanctions on his close associates.
He called out Theresa May of Britain.
He criticised China and her leaders. He took a risk of trade war with China.
He called Mexicans rapist , drug peddlers and unsavoury names. Even plans to build a wall.
He fought American footballers who refused to honour their anthem.
He is fighting the largest media platform, CNN.
He is fighting establishments in US; FBI, CIA, JUDICIARY etc.
He knocked NATO allies. Threatened Iran. Shot into Syria.
He fights with his appointees if needs be.
He called black Americans 'LAZY' before his elections.
He called African nations 'shithole'.
He is not afraid to tell it to u , no matter who u are because he is the POTUS. He says it exactly the way it is, snubs, Bullshits even world leaders.
He rarely gives compliments
BUT
when he met President Buhari, everything changed. He was so excited that he could not control it. To d extent that he was even longing for a 'selfie'/ close shot, smiling to the camera. Meaning it was deliberate. Gave PMB d full presidential compliments he has hardly given any other leader since assuming office.
He didn't stop there, he went on and on with eternal compliments.
Buhari became a Rock star to him.
WHYhuh?
The honour and unusual integrity , dedication and commitment of a black man.
Finally he said, " I have tremendous respect for President Buhari.....Buhari is a honest & great leader Africa has produced ....For your sake, I will like to visit Nigeria pretty soon."

He also called him the No. 1 President of Africa.

Keep your honour. It will speak for u someday.

If the Hater's hero can say this about my President , why should I attempt to support or vote another.

It took a 75 year old President to attract such an honour to Nigeria. What far younger ones couldn't do for years. It is an honour for us all; all Nigerians not for PMB alone.

Buhari Again 2019.

Proudly Nigerian.
[/s]
Politics › Re: Melaye: BBC Staff Picked, Handcuffed by meccuno: 12:17pm On May 03, 2018
Firefire:
Part of the promised CHAINGE.
grin grin grin chaii!!!
Literature › Re: Chimamanda Adichie At The 7th Annual Igbo Conference (photos+video) by meccuno: 9:30am On May 03, 2018
[quote author= post=67234339]Must she put on a masquerade dressing and holding a cane before you know she is igbo?!
Smh[/quote]grin grin grin grin grin
Politics › Re: Dino Melaye: Lawyers Clash With Policemen In Court Premises (Photos, VIDEO) by meccuno: 8:06pm On Apr 30, 2018
Politics › Re: Enugu State Building 5 Fire Stations Across The 3 Senatorial Districts by meccuno: 7:15pm On Apr 29, 2018
how is this news?
Politics › Re: Do The Igbo Indigenous To South South Matter ? by meccuno: 8:05am On Apr 29, 2018
Reelectbuhari:
I wish I can believe this.....in this present Nigeria arrangement.....


I hv once proposed....that north will agree for us to divide if east will leave south south for them.....and I hv always said if that is the condition then let the 5 eastern state.....leave and become biafra....

I bet u...u cannot know ur potential.....if u continue to drag people dat doesn't want to go with u........

Singapore to me is a good example.......

how many ss has agreed they are igbos........just 5% out of 100
no igbo man would be left behind. as far as i am concerned there is nothing like real and fake igbo. i had to talk down on an elderly man when he came up with that trash. the beauty about all these things is that most young igbo dudes who grew up in Lagos have started to realize that they are igbos and not yorubas because of ethnic sentiments. before i didn't really care but now i know the importance of recognizing your own people.
Politics › Re: Unbelievable Story About Buhari by meccuno: 10:02pm On Apr 27, 2018
[s]
Bakrabas:
Unbelievable Buhari

Many people are saying the Dapchi saga is UNBELIEVABLE. Well, I go with them. Everything about Buhari has been unbelievable for a very long time.

Even history accords him that UNBELIEVABLE respect.

It was unbelievable when PMB killed Maitatsine terrorism in 1980

It was unbelievable when he killed Makiniki at the Cameroun border in 1981

It was unbelievable when he built our first set of refineries as Petroleum Minister

It was unbelievable when he won the 2015 presidential election

It was unbelievable when he silenced IPOB

It was unbelievable when we stopped hearing of Niger Delta militants

It was unbelievable when he reduced and decimated boko haram to soft target attackers

It was unbelievable when fuel queues disappeared in the face of sabotage and excessive profiteering besides fraudulent subsidy regimes.

It will still be UNBELIEVABLE when Nigeria will stop importing refined products with the full operation Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries across Nigeria.

And it will still be UNBELIEVABLE to many wailers and enemies of Nigeria that Buhari will win 2019 Presidential election in a landslide victory.

I call him Mr UNBELIEVABLE.

Why do I call him MR. UNBELIEVABLE?

-Shortly after he resumed office, they sponsored Avengers to halt oil business(Country's major income), he tackled them.

-They later sponsored IPOB secessionists, he silenced them

- Being the promoter of farming, they bought, hoard and even destroyed the farm products after the harvest, to create hunger in the land and ignite civil uproar, but he invested more in farming to bridge the gap they have created

-They made an attempt on his life, put poisoned-gas in his office air conditioning system, but God Helped, healed and returned him back home, after months.

-They ganged up with some people in the NASS to scuttle all progressive bills and laws in order to make him bow, he remained resolute.

-They used all sorts of characters in the NASS including the "common sense" senator to ridicule him and distract him, he remained indifferent.

-They imported, smuggled deadly-weapons and sponsored killings, and internal crimes to tarnish his government, he squared up their effort and keep beating them.

-They took false campaign of calumny against him to foreign countries, in return he gets more support and encouragement from international world.

They even attempted pitch him against his friend Tinubu, but the Ashiwaju is a wise man, and politically savvy. He disappointed them.

-They resolved to begging him not to contest again, he left them in tenterhook and suspense.

-Now they knelt down and beg military to take over. He smiled. When you hear these people crying, please note that Nigeria is progressing, and getting off its hook. They prefer anybody apart from him, they presented/suggested many options within their circle. As they create the distractions and the sabotage, he remains resolute, focused, determined, calculative and committed to the welfare and well being of his country masses.

Buhari all the way

©Frank Ofili

(Please share)
[/s]
Politics › Re: President Buhari With Students Of Samuel Ogbemudia College, Benin City (photos) by meccuno: 9:51pm On Apr 27, 2018
never too late to get the certificate..............#classic grin grin grin
Politics › Re: President Buhari Testing A Microphone At The Commonwealth Meeting (Video) by meccuno: 9:40pm On Apr 27, 2018
cutefergiee:
My president Na TERRY GEEZUZ now abi?? Make Una Cornteenew.. God wee judge oooo
grin grin grin grin grin grin grin grin grin grin
Politics › Re: President Buhari Testing A Microphone At The Commonwealth Meeting (Video) by meccuno: 9:40pm On Apr 27, 2018
AngryRebel:
idiotic pigs of Buhari... Will u shutup there!
chaiii.........idiotic pigs of buhari....thats a stinker
grin grin grin grin grin grin grin grin
Politics › Re: Lagos Is Going Communist by meccuno: 11:04pm On Apr 23, 2018
Marcelo290:
Communism is in clear terms, Government dominance over the means of production and distribution, from the analogy the OP gave in his post, can't you see the correlation?

That you are outspoken on NL doesn't make you smart or intelligent, many have been swallowing your stupidity for long now. Everyone and everything is about Ipob, We all know you aren't smart enough but can't you just coin up something and try replying to the subject of discourse?? Nawa o...
grin grin grin

Crime › Re: Police capture robbers that attacked Magu's home, killed Guard (PICS) by meccuno: 8:25pm On Apr 23, 2018
Paradigm777:
Those names sound Idoma pple from Benue
grin grin grin
Politics › Re: 'We Are Not Lazy,' Nigerian Youths Slam President Buhari On Social Media - CNN by meccuno: 11:14pm On Apr 20, 2018
buhariguy:
only lazy freebies idiotic pigs of Biafra.
its getting STALE......try something else grin grin grin
Politics › Re: There Will Be Wild, Wild North If Pdp Rigs —bakare by meccuno: 10:53am On Apr 20, 2018
at the end of the day what are we getting from the govt of buhari? huh huh huh huh huh
Politics › Re: Aisha Buhari In A Handshake With Queen Elizabeth II by meccuno: 8:17am On Apr 20, 2018
i see only slaves(house nigger.s) to the colonialist..... sad sad sad
Politics › A Quote From Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. by meccuno(op): 12:30am On Apr 19, 2018
“Since 1914, the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite... Nigerian unity is only a British intention for the country.”- Alhaji (Sir) Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, 1948.

Politics › Re: Fayose: Buhari Is An Embarrassment For Blaming Gaddafi For Herdsmen Killings by meccuno: 7:44pm On Apr 13, 2018
[s]
ANIOMADEI2018:
IF APC is not the answer to our Problems, there is no reason going back to the instigators of the problem.
I'm not a politician but I would do everything not to have PDP in Government in Nigeria.
The greatest tragedy that can befall a nation is for her citizens to suffer collective amnesia. I believe PDP believes Nigerians have short memories, if not, Ibori would not have been included in their convention committee and Jonathan would not have been allowed to talk (He ended up indicting himself as usual anyway).
For those who may have forgotten, kindly joggle your memories with the following words on marble and you will agree with me that what happened in Eagle square on saturday was nothing but gathering of rogues.
Happy reading:

1. I acted based on Jonathan's instruction - Dasuki

2. I didn't give order - Jonathan

3. I collected 350M from Dasuki for consultation - Iyorchia Ayu

4. I only collected $30,000 from Dasuki not N100m - Bode George

5. I got N4.6b from Dasuki for spiritual purposes - Bafarawa

6. I got N650M from Dasuki for my Abuja burnt office - Thisday Obaigbena.

7. I got N2.1b from Dasuki for publicity - Dokpesi

8. I got another N100m from Yuguda he didn't tell me from where - Bafarawa.

9. I gave N100m each to Odili, Jim Nwobodo Bode George and others - Yuguda

10. The president asked me to change N10B to foreign currency for PDP delegates - Dasuki

11. My boss asked me to get $11M from the CBN - Dasuki's account officer.

12. I got order from above to pay Tompolo N13B for Maritime university land. - Nimasa DG.

13. 950m was shared in my house -- Shekarau

With all this looting and many more revealed, some people are still shouting no sign of change yet, they even say it's political persecution.

But I believe, it is the right thing to do.
If you believe too, send this to other people to garner more support for the fight against corruption and looting in our nation. There must be consequences for such crimes otherwise Nigeria will not develop.

WHERE ARE THE #WAILERS?
"Over 20 billion dollars unremitted to the Federation account, and if nothing is done by 2015 upward, Nigeria will know what economic crisis is"
*~ Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi*

"Whoever wins 2015 will NEVER find it easy to govern. Over 30 trillion is mismanaged, unaccounted for or missing under Jonathan."
*~ Prof Charles Soludo*

"Our reserve is depleted and our savings are squandered. Our nation is in trouble."
*~ Dr Oby Ezekwesili.*

"For seven months, NNPC did not remit any money into federation account. When I called as a sitting governor and major oil producing state, Deziani Alison Madueke refused to pick my calls."
*~ Godswill Akpabio*

"I told them to save ahead of eventualities but Jonathan had no political will to do so and this is the reason why we are in crisis, because we squandered our boom."
*~ Okonjo Iweala*

"Okonjo-Iweala, Sanusi urged us to save but we state Governors refused to save for the unseen future during the tenure of Goodluck Jonathan, despite warning from economic experts."
*~ Peter Obi*

"Jonathan is a blessed ATM machine that doesn't have secret pin number"
*~ Bala Mohammed*

* Tompolo was paid 13Billion.!
* Ex-CDS,Alex Badeh dug a pit toilet to hide $32m.
* Patience Jonathan is claiming $31m, she has sued the Nigerian state.
* Femi Fani-Kayode took 740M.
* Dasuki used trucks to load over $35B from the CBN.
* Olisa Metuh took 400M.
* Aziboala, GEJ's cousin took 6B naira.
* Nenadi Usman took 3.5B naira.
* Fayose took 3B naira.
* Obanikoro took 4Billion naira.
* Olu Falae took 100M naira.
* Tony Anenih - 400M naira.
* Oritsejafor - $35M
* Former Air Chief Amosu - 2Billion naira.
* Lucky Igbinedion-16B naira.
*Bode-George and Dabo -100B naira
* Jolly Nyame-2.4B naira.
* Joshua Dariye-700M naira.
*Nyesom Wike stole #4b.
* Diezzani with $20 billion missing oil money?
15 billon dollars missing from arms fund, 10 billion naria, converted to dollars and given as gift to delegates of PDP Nation convention, Bafarawa collected 3 billion for spiritual purposes , 12. 7 billon naria for deceased NEPA staff grew wings and disappeared, 20 billion dollars missing from NNPC accounts, 23 billon naira as bribe to INEC staffs to rig the general election. The list is endless. They only left what they can't carry or unable to lay their hands on. The list continues.....
Recession didn't just happen, people looted Nigeria into RECESSION happening
[/s]
Politics › Re: Funtua Katsina Dry Port May Commence Operations In May by meccuno: 7:30pm On Apr 13, 2018
Rolings:
Since you are that smart it would seem foolish of you to comment on an issue you have little knowledge of. The inland dry ports are in every geo political zone . What then is your motive for singling out yoruba inland dry port for mention if not hatred , jealousy and low self esteem. The average ibo man wants everything for himself alone which the yoruba man is not.
The average iboman is jealous of the achievements of the yorubas
the average iboman even when they tout themselves as diehard businessmen and enterpreneur still think so low of himself as to think an educated yoruba pepper seller reason far better that an illiterate ibo millionaire spare part dealer...... i havr never seen a more confused tribe as ibos
.
where do you guys actually get these fables from?
Politics › Re: How Libyan War Led To Proliferation Of Weapons In Sahel Africa by meccuno: 7:25pm On Apr 13, 2018
[s]
vedaxcool:
Fair Observer
NAVIGATE
Helios Global 5 years ago
Libya: Weapons Proliferation and Regional Stability in the Sahel


Libyan weapons have further militarized movements in Africa.

The 2011 fall of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi and the subsequent breakdown in order in Libya, has been a major contributor to the instability plaguing large swaths of the Sahel region and Northwest Africa. In particular, the flow of weapons, such as a multitude of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and explosives, from liberated Libyan military stockpiles into the surrounding countries has galvanized existing political opposition currents, separatist movements, and transnational militant groups.

Much of the concern regarding the impact of weapons proliferation out of Libya emphasizes the potential threat of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) falling into the hands of radical Islamist militant groups, such as al-Qaeda or one of its regional or international affiliates. In light of the persistent threat of international terrorism as it relates to commercial air travel, such concerns remain valid. Yet it has been the residual impact of the proliferation of SALW and explosives on regional stability and security, that has posed the most immediate threats to what is an already precarious political and security environment.

Mali, which has experienced severe unrest since January 2012 – including ethnic Tuareg-led insurrections, radical Islamist insurgency, and a military-led coup d’état – has been the most dramatic example of the region’s post-Qaddafi volatility; Chad and Niger have also been forced to deal with fallout from the Libyan revolt. Algeria has experienced a noticeable uptick of violence, including the January 2013 attack against the Tigantourine natural gas facility in Amenas in eastern Algeria along the Algerian-Libyan border. The attack at Amenas was orchestrated by militants associated with an offshoot of al-Qaeda’s North African affiliate, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), known as al-Mulathameen (The Masked Ones). Nigeria believes that radical Islamist militants affiliated with Boko Haram have also been emboldened by their access to Libyan arms. While lying outside of the geographic space that is the subject of this analysis, the increase in violence in Egypt’s Sinai region is also being partially attributed to the influx of smuggled Libyan arms into Egyptian territory.

To date, the proliferation of Libyan weapons has further militarized numerous existing political opposition and radical movements and afforded opportunities for other violent and irregular actors to pursue their own objectives. Qaddafi’s fall was followed by a troubled political transition that remains marred by violence between rival factions and militias, resulting in a power vacuum in one of the region’s most militarized states. As Libya struggles to consolidate its domestic political institutions and establish some semblance of law and order, SALW and explosives proliferation stemming from within its borders will continue unabated. Consequently, the countries lying within the Sahel and Northwest Africa will continue to have their security undermined by developments in Libya.

Libyan Weapons: Galvanizing Violence

Despite the concerns surrounding the disposition of Libya’s arsenal of MANPADS, there is no concrete evidence that any militants present in the region – radical Islamist or otherwise – have procured the weapons systems. Nevertheless, the potential threats associated with MANPADS continue to attract much of the attention in regards to proliferation. These worries were exacerbated by documents discovered in Libya in September 2011, indicating that Russia had provided Qaddafi with several hundred advanced – and unaccounted for – SA-24 “Grinch” surface-to-air missiles. In March 2011, Chad’s President Idriss Deby claimed that Libyan MANPADS had entered Chad and Niger. Malian officials echoed Deby’s claims. A number of unconfirmed reports circulated in regional media outlets claimed that various North African regional militant groups had acquired MANPADS in 2012 and 2013. Algerian officials reported in February 2013 that they confiscated numerous Russian surface-to-air missile systems in Algeria’s southern regions.

But it is the proliferation of more prosaic weapons systems – essentially a diverse array of SALW and explosives – that have most actively contributed to the recent wave of unrest and instability in the Sahel and Northwest Africa. An assortment of Libyan weapons started entering neighboring countries soon after the outbreak of civil war in Libya. In early 2011, assault rifles, ammunition, mortars, mines, and plastic explosives began crossing Libya’s borders into Algeria, Egypt, Niger, and Mali. In April 2011, regional media reports claimed that pickup trucks carrying arms, ammunition, and explosives from eastern Libya had crossed into Mali via Chad and Niger.

Since 2011, concerned officials have repeatedly claimed that Libyan weapons and stockpiles of plastic explosives are being distributed to militants in Niger, Algeria, Nigeria, and elsewhere. Established organized criminal and illicit trafficking networks traversing the Sahel’s ancient East-West trade routes, and associated networks that link the north to the south, are facilitating this trend. The porous borders throughout the territories in question also help ensure that the relative free flow of illicit trade continues unimpeded. The increasing availability of arms has also provided aspiring militants with the opportunity to establish their own fringe factions. Weapons traffickers are also benefiting from the additional sources of supply and increasingly diverse selections of arms.

Mali, Chad, and Niger

This is most evident in Mali. The political leadership in Bamako has long disenfranchised Mali’s Tuaregs, a nomadic population that is related to the indigenous Berber peoples of North Africa and the Sahel region. Qaddafi employed thousands of Tuareg mercenaries from Mail, Niger, and Chad to bolster the Libyan military while fortifying his own power base within the Libyan security apparatus. Following the collapse of his regime, the repatriation of these generally well trained, heavily armed, often battle hardened, and politicized Tuaregs remains a major challenge. In January 2012, a separatist Tuareg rebellion broke out in northern Mali. In March 2012, Malian military officers launched a coup against the government of President Amadou Toumani, in response to what they claimed was the mismanagement of the military with the rebellion. By April 2012, Tuareg rebels, allied with a variety of Islamist militants, had gained control of most of northern Mali, prompting a joint French-Malian military campaign to recapture the north in January 2013.

Despite French and Malian efforts, northern Mali remains a militant stronghold. Tuareg separatist groups such as the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA), and the Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA) exist alongside – and increasingly clash with – regional Islamist extremist groups such as AQIM, the AQIM-affiliated Movement of Jihad and Oneness in West Africa (MUJAO), Ansar al-Dine (AAD), among others. For instance, MIA is a splinter group of AAD. The MIA broke from AAD in January 2013 and subsequently renounced its tactics and ties to AQIM. Similarly, MAA was formed as a secular alternative to the more Islamist-oriented MNLA. These groups – all of whom have benefitted from the influx of weapons from liberated Libyan caches – have created an atmosphere of ongoing violence in Mali, complicating the region’s prospects for stability.

The specter of anti-government violence also haunts Chad. The Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) threatened in March to renew its militant campaign against the Deby regime despite having agreed to lay down its arms in 2010. There has been speculation that arms from Libya have encouraged the UFR’s saber rattling, and Deby – who has survived multiple coups, including an alleged attempt by two generals and two legislators to take over the country this past May – has accused Libya of harboring UFR rebels.

Niger also faces an uncertain future in the wake of the Libyan collapse. In May, MUJAO militants launched a suicide bombing – the first attack of its kind in Niger – against a Nigerien army base and French uranium mine operated by Areva in northern Niger. The group claimed that the operation was designed to punish Niamey for deploying a contingent of peacekeepers to Mali. The attacks, which Niger claimed were launched from Libya, raised concerns in both Niger and Europe about the safety of Niger’s uranium deposits; France, which derives the majority of its electricity from nuclear power, receives about 40 percent of its uranium from Niger. Niger is also reported to possess significant oil deposits, and has a history of rebel-led violence directed at its uranium and oil sector. Since 2007, the Tuareg-based Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) has threatened to attack oil and uranium operations in the country, unless Niamey provides the MNJ with a greater share of national energy revenues. MNJ has kidnapped Chinese and French workers at oil and uranium facilities, and many fear that the instability in Libya will provide the MNJ with additional resources and an increased operational capacity.

Organized Crime and Regional Smuggling Networks

As the number of militant groups in the region grows, the demand for weapons increases, bolstering the illicit trade networks that have existed alongside legitimate trade relationships in the region for years. The Sahel and Northwest Africa are focal points of arms trafficking since the 1990s, and since the early 2000s, narcotics trafficking – especially of cocaine and cannabis resin – has been on the rise. The region in question is widely touted as a global hub of narcotics trafficking that encompasses links to Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe. Organized criminal networks, which often incorporate networks of underpaid and corrupt government officials and regional security personnel, have exploited the growing instability to expand their operations, assisted by the flood of Libyan weapons into the region.

Risks

The current Tuareg separatist and radical Islamist-led violence in the Sahel and Northwest Africa is unlikely to recede in the near-term. The desperate poverty of the region, where drought and expanding desertification have ravaged the agrarian economy and frequent kidnappings have decimated the foreign tourist trade, provides few legitimate and viable employment opportunities to Tuareg mercenaries returning from years of service – and employment – in Libya. These populations have been ignored and marginalized by their governments for decades, resulting in extreme resentment and a steady process of politicization.

Qaddafi was in power for over 40 years, and his absence is being felt on many levels. Despite his government’s isolation from the larger Arab and Western worlds, the former Libyan army colonel actively cultivated close ties with his African neighbors to the south, using Libya’s considerable oil wealth to promote infrastructure development projects, broker peace deals, and provide employment to impoverished and disenfranchised minority groups. Libya’s new provisional government is unlikely – and largely unable – to continue Qaddafi’s policies towards Libya’s African neighbors, policies on which many of those neighbors had come to depend economically, politically, and socially. This, combined with the influx of Libyan SALW and explosives into the region and the subsequent strengthening of numerous anti-government and separatist militant groups, clouds the security, political, and economic outlook for the Sahel and Northwest Africa.

*[This article, originally published with the title, "Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation from Libya Threatens Stability in the Sahel and Northwest Africa," has been reproduced with the permission of Helios Global, Inc. Copyright 2013 Helios Global, Inc.]

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

Image: Copyright © Shutterstock. All Rights Reserved

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TV/Movies › Re: Dwayne Johnson Reveals Why He Used a Nigerian Name 'Okoye' In His Movie 'Rampage by meccuno: 11:29am On Apr 13, 2018
nickyboduns:
why not davis buhari instead grin grin grin grin grin
God forbid!!! angry angry angry
Politics › Re: All Is Well! Bola Tinubu And Tunde Fashola 'kiss And Make Up' In New Photos by meccuno: 11:18am On Apr 13, 2018
Tinubu.....The greatest Thief of the 21st Century....... grin grin grin
Politics › Re: Gov Obiano Reveals Plan To Boost Anambra's Tourism by meccuno: 10:24pm On Apr 12, 2018
good cool cool
Business › Re: The 7 Richest Women In Nigeria In 2018 - Tushmagazine by meccuno: 11:44am On Apr 12, 2018
soberdrunk:
.............once i see "oil and gas" i skip to the next 'real' entrepreneur. Any wealthy person in Nigeria that made their money from "oil and gas" is not an "entrepreneur" just an "Opportunistic Criminal" angry
lolz...we share the same thoughts....
Politics › Re: Biafra - The Effect Of Wartime Mass Starvation. (kwashiorkor) by meccuno: 4:36am On Apr 01, 2018
well the good things about these "yoruba" guys defending their tribe like voltron only means that we are not one and never are we going to be. gradually moving towards breaking up. so we need more of things like this.

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