All posts by Abraham Ameh

Comments Off on Instability in Nigeria: The Maizube Farm Deliberations

Instability in Nigeria: The Maizube Farm Deliberations

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Instability in Nigeria: The Maizube Farm Deliberations

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

That Nigeria is politically charged and bereft of safety and security would be an understatement. Terrorists are competing for who can surpass the other in wanton destruction of lives. Drums of separation are recently getting louder among many nationalities. Kidnappings once restricted to the Niger Delta has now made travels except by air, a harrowing experience. Banditry goes on as usual as stupid people engage in rituals for money. The situation, rather than improve, has worsened in the last five or six years.

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Instability in Nigeria The Maizube Farm Deliberations 

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Comments Off on Seven Days in Slovenia

Seven Days in Slovenia

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 Seven Days in Slovenia

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

Seven days in the Republic of Slovenia was a great eye opener. I knew that the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) disintegrated at the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century but did not pay attention to the details in spite of the bitter wars that cost many lives. Those were days in which wars were equally raging in many parts of Africa and I got sucked into efforts towards peacekeeping in Somalia after Butros Ghali as UN Secretary-General pricked the conscience of the world by pointing out the relative abandonment of the world with respect to the poor man’s war in Somalia.

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Seven Days in Slovenia

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Comments Off on Ibadan A Pleasant Change from The Bustle of Lagos

Ibadan A Pleasant Change from The Bustle of Lagos

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Ibadan A Pleasant Change from The Bustle of Lagos

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

For a change, my wife and I spent 26-29 July, 2018 at Ibadan, that sprawling largest city, (I believe not just in West Africa as I was taught in geography as a kid), but arguably in Africa. It had the largest population in my younger days. But today, is not populated like Lagos that once had the advantage of being the political capital that remains the economic capital. Ibadan is estimated to be only 3.5m. It was the political capital of Yorubas and was the base of conversion of proceeds from sales of cocoa by a hard-working people into a free primary education for all which to date remains a boost to Yoruba contribution to human knowledge. Obafemi Awolowo, working with others from Ibadan just for about 4 years showed the British a phenomenal can-do spirit. Apart from investing in the birth and growth of my generation, they built the first skyscraper in Africa, first stadium in Africa and first television station in Africa – Western Nigeria Television (WNTV). Little wonder Britain preferred people without can-do spirit to govern Nigeria. Nigeria has remained the loser for that colonial manipulation of census among other political machinations including the rejection of independence by 1956 by other leaders which Britain supported.

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Ibadan A Pleasant Change from The Bustle of Lagos

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Comments Off on From Panama to Paradise Papers

From Panama to Paradise Papers

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From Panama to Paradise Papers 

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

The ripple effects of the Panama Papers are still on in many jurisdictions. Now we have a new leak which, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), include confidential documents of a Bermuda based law firm, Appleby Group Services Ltd, files from Asiaciti, a trust company, as well as documents from company registries in 19 secrecy jurisdictions. The Paradise Papers were first shared with German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and the ICIJ and partner media outlets. Premium Times claims to be the only news outlet invited to participate from Nigeria. The new leak that became public on November 5, 2017, contains 13.4 million files on offshore accounts of private investors, both individuals and corporations from around the world.

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From Panama to Paradise Papers

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Comments Off on From CFA to ECO: What’s in a Name?

From CFA to ECO: What’s in a Name?

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From CFA to ECO: What’s in a Name?

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

In international politics, there are no permanent friends (at least not one that colonized you), but permanent interests. The CFA is a neo-colonial relation between 8 former colonies of France except Guinea-Bissau which was colonized by Portugal. It is in the interest of France to maintain the relations with its former colonies in spite of hushed tones of dissatisfaction from those pretending to be African leaders.  Countries collaborate if it’s in their respective interests. Many a time, countries operate on how to better their selfish interest. So, France or Britain, (in the case of Nigeria), must not be blamed for always trying to protect their respective interests over and above those of their respective former colonies. It is for Africans to wake-up, use their brains and brawn for change instead of stupidly praying to God/gods of others and expecting freedom through miracles!

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From CFA to ECO 

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Comments Off on Father’s Day Lunch and Corruption Discourse

Father’s Day Lunch and Corruption Discourse

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Father’s Day Lunch and Corruption Discourse

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

Sunday, June 17, 2018, was claimed to be Father’s Day for this year. It is the only one fathers get as compared to the plethora of days dedicated to mothers. For some reason, Western consumerism creates all sorts of days to make merchants happy. Presents are purchased from merchants for mothers as fathers receive phone calls or at best, WhatsApp messages.

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Father and Son Conversation at Lunch

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Comments Off on Do Africans Still Need Safari Tourists Disguised as International Election Observers?

Do Africans Still Need Safari Tourists Disguised as International Election Observers?

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Do Africans Still Need Safari Tourists Disguised as International Election Observers? 

By Babafemi A. Badejo, PhD & Nana K. A. Busia, Jr., PhD

Since the ushering in of multi-party politics in African states, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the early 1990s, observation of elections by external organizations is one of the mechanisms employed to ensure free and fair elections in the respective African countries.

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Do Africans Still Need Safari Tourists Disguised as International Election Observers 

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Comments Off on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

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Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

We tend to easily sensationalize and fail to examine history very closely. I don’t know if I am alone but we are, in my view, far from the euphoric commentaries on developments on the Korean Peninsula. Rounds of high-level meetings are not holding for the first time in or on the Korean Peninsula. They are taking place after the ones of 1994 and 2000.

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Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula 

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Comments Off on Death at Sea or Slavery for Africa

Death at Sea or Slavery for Africa

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Death at Sea or Slavery for Africa

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

On November 7, 2017, it was internationally announced that 26 young women, estimated to be in the age range of 14-18 had been found dead on the Mediterranean Sea inside a capsized boat. They were presumed to have met their fate about three days earlier.

According to Mr. Tope Adeleye Elias-Fatile, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Foreign Ministry, the women were confirmed to be Nigerians by the Nigerian Embassy in Italy. Subsequently, however, the Nigerian authorities claimed only three were confirmed as Nigerians.

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Death at Sea or Slavery for Africa

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Comments Off on Consultative Meeting on AFCFTA in Dakar

Consultative Meeting on AFCFTA in Dakar

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Consultative Meeting on AFCFTA in Dakar

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

With a temporary exit from Addis Ababa on June 23, 2019, a day after the reported coup attempt in that country, I arrived in Dakar late afternoon on the same day. The last time I was in Dakar was on May 14, 2014 as I took my leave from West Africa to return to East Africa, specifically Darfur from where I retired in the quest for peace under the flag of the African Union coupling with that of the United Nations in the only joint operation (mainly in name only) by the two organizations. Being back in the land of la Teranga was nostalgic. From late 2009 to 2014, when I served the United Nations as Chief of Staff of a complex peace operation, I had to transit Dakar to travel home and in fact to most places. This was aside from meetings associated with the UN office for West Africa.

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Consultative meeting on AFCFTA in Dakar

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