₦airaland Forum

Ezeama400:
You destroy it, but you consume it more ..

“What is unfolding before us is an attempt to subvert our nascent democracy, and we want Nigerian compatriots of good conscience to help us in this fight......” A ruling party senator said under condition of anonymity to avoid being targeted by the president’s allies.

Algeria's parliament has unanimously passed a law declaring France's colonisation of the North African state a crime, and demanding an apology and reparations. The law also criminalises the glorification of colonialism, state-run TV reports.

The vote is the latest sign of increasingly strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, with some observers saying they are at their lowest since Algeria gained independence 63 years ago.

France's colonialisation of Algeria between 1830 and 1962 was marked by mass killings, large-scale deportations and ended in a bloody war of independence. Algeria says the war killed 1.5 million people, while French historians put the death toll much lower.

France's President Emmanuel Macron has previously acknowledged the colonisation of Algeria was a "crime against humanity" but has not offered an apology.

Lawmakers wore scarves in the colours of the national flag and chanted "long live Algeria" as they applauded the bill's passage through parliament, AFP news agency reports. It says the legislation states that France has "legal responsibility" for the "tragedies it caused", and "full and fair" compensation was an "inalienable right of the Algerian state and people".

France has not yet commented on the vote. It comes at a time of growing pressure on Western powers to offer reparations for slavery and colonialism, and to return looted artefacts still kept in their museums.

Algerian lawmakers have been demanding that France return a 16th Century bronze canon, known as Baba Merzoug, meaning "Blessed Father", that was regarded as the protector of Algiers, now Algeria's capital.

French forces captured the city in 1830, on their third attempt, and removed the cannon - which is now in the port city of Brest in north-western France. In 2020, France returned the remains of 24 Algerian fighters who were killed resisting French colonial forces in the 19th Century.

Last month, Algeria hosted a conference of African states to push for justice and reparations. Algeria's Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf said that a legal framework would ensure that restitution was neither regarded as "a gift nor a favour".

Diplomatic relations between between Algeria and France soured last year, when Macron announced France was recognising Moroccan sovereignty of Western Sahara and backed a plan for limited autonomy for the disputed territory. Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front in Western Sahara and is seen as its main ally.

French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal was then arrested at Algiers airport in and jailed for five years, before being pardoned by Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last month. Prosecutors said he had undermined national security for making remarks that questioned Algeria's borders.

seunmsg:
I really pity Taiwo Oyedele. Dude left KPMG....Today, he has to deal with all kinds of lies, misinformation, misinterpretation, personal attacks, etc

"It's really about how the coming of Jesus into the world is the light in the darkness and there's plenty of darkness around in the world at the moment........ "

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand).

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the house top not go down to take what is in his house......"(Matthew 24 : 15 - 17 ESV‬ )

The Archbishop of Wales has said that some parishioners have chosen to leave the Church in Wales in protest over her sexuality and gender. The Most Reverend Cherry Vann, who is also Bishop of Monmouth, became both the UK's first female Archbishop well as the first openly gay Archbishop in the world, in July.

Speaking ahead of delivering her first Christmas message as Archbishop, she said she had been hurt by attacks over her sexuality, but added those with different opinions should not be forbidden from expressing their views. It follows the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon) describing her appointment as "another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy."

Speaking to BBC Wales, the Archbishop said: "There are still patches all over the place where people continue to struggle with women in leadership and I have to respect that.
The Church in Wales is working hard to welcome LGBT+ people, but also I respect that there are people in the Church in Wales who find that really difficult. Some, sadly, have felt the need to leave and I take that very seriously."

Archbishop Vann was elected by her fellow bishops with a two-thirds majority, following the retirement of her predecessor, Andrew John, in the summer. He retired after issues with safeguarding, excessive drinking and church members overstepping sexual boundaries came to light at Bangor Cathedral.

Archbishop Vann said the vast majority of people had been supportive about her election, but added others had been "quite hostile. It can be very hurtful. It's hard to hear some of the things that people say, but I think it's important that there is the space for them to say that.

"I don't want people to feel shut down or silenced just because I hold a different view.But it does nevertheless hurt because it feels like an attack on who I am and who God has made me to be. "We have to find a way as a Church to respect one another's views and find a commonality in our faith in Christ, despite our differences."

Archbishop Vann said that despite the widespread interest in her election because of her sex and gender, they were not the most important things to her.

"Other people find it fascinating", she said. I had a lot of people contact me rejoicing at my election and saying how much hope and strength they get from the fact that there is now a woman in the role – and a civilly partnered woman at that. I've had the opposite as well. That's just life".

In her Christmas message, the Archbishop said she had chosen a passage from the Gospel of John about finding light in the darkness, a popular choice at carol services. "It's really about how the coming of Jesus into the world is the light in the darkness – and there's plenty of darkness around in the world at the moment", she said.

"Our message as Christians is that Jesus comes into all that difficulty and despair and brings the light of hope and love and joy, because of who he is".

After a turbulent year for the Church in Wales, Archbishop Vann said she was very conscious of her responsibility to fix the issues that led to her predecessor's departure. Asked whether her time as Archbishop should be judged against her ability to change the culture within the Church, she said it presented a significant challenge.

"I think there is a big cultural issue in the Church. Anybody who has tried to change the culture in an organisation will tell you it takes a long time.

"This is a big thing and I guess that there will still be work to do when I retire. (We need) to take a greater care for those who have been damaged by the Church, of which sadly there are many.

"But I am hopeful that we are already making changes. There are many people who are determined to make a difference and ensure that the Church is a place where, when things go wrong, they are dealt with properly"

Nollywood has produced its own league of legendary actors who have gone to dominate the television or movie industry for long Nigeria over the years.

So as we reminiscence over these great thespians, we would want to ask - which of the following ace actors of Yesteryears was best fit for the most kingly character in local movies?

-Pete Edochie
-Alex Usifo
-Olu Jacobs
-Jibola Dabo
-Justice Esiri.
-Enebeli Elebuwa.