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Oct 05 Comments Off

Sustainable Development Goals Beyond COVID-19 Pandemic

Every year, the Bahrain Visions Forum holds on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly. As a result of the peculiarities of this year, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition also marking the 75th anniversary of the UN could not hold physically.

A virtual session was held on September 29, with participants including the Executive Director of the WHO. In pursing the SDGs beyond COVID-19, it was agreed that greater commitment to multilateralism and cooperation is preferred. The highlight of the session was the idea of a an informal association to be called “Group of Friends of the UN SG for the amelioration of the negative impact of COVID-19 on the SDGs” proposed by Bahrain Visions Forum.

See link below for a you tube record of the major highlights

Oct 05 Comments Off

The NBA, Corruption and the Rule of Law

Posted by Abraham Ameh

The NBA, Corruption and the Rule of Law

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

The Nigeria Bar Association got a new Executive over a month now. Given the pervasiveness of corruption in Nigeria and its inverse relationship with the rule of law, one would have expected clear moves, even if as concretised expressions of intent to fight the scourge of corruption in Nigeria in general and in the dispensation of justice in particular.

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The NBA, Corruption and the Rule of Law

Sep 14 Comments Off

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office Copy

Posted by Abraham Ameh

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

As I was about to retire, my wife stressed the need to upgrade our country home at Odoşęnlu, Ijebu-Ode. It was clear that I would not settle in Geneva, New York or Nairobi as a number of my UN retiring colleagues tend to do. These choices for many UN retirees are easily explainable. Returning to home countries after socializing with an international oriented cosmopolitan group for decades tends to be traumatic. As a result, UN retirees tend to die off on an average of five years if they served till the very end. Of course, a few died a day after retirement as a result of accidents and some make it well beyond thirty years.

Click link below to download full story in PDF

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

Aug 29 Comments Off

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

Posted by Abraham Ameh

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

As I was about to retire, my wife stressed the need to upgrade our country home at Odoşęnlu, Ijebu-Ode. It was clear that I would not settle in Geneva, New York or Nairobi as a number of my UN retiring colleagues tend to do. These choices for many UN retirees are easily explainable. Returning to home countries after socializing with an international oriented cosmopolitan group for decades tends to be traumatic. As a result, UN retirees tend to die off on an average of five years if they served till the very end. Of course, a few died a day after retirement as a result of accidents and some make it well beyond thirty years.

Click link below to download full story in PDF

New Olu of Odoşęnlu Receives Staff of Office

Aug 06 Comments Off

Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

Posted by Abraham Ameh

Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

With independence realized from colonial rule, Africa had its fair share of sit-tight Presidents. The continent started off with one-party states that knew only one leader who satisfied demands for elections but making sure that these “African Kings” regularly and purportedly scored over 90% of votes cast. Then came a spate of “African Kings in military uniforms” who equally stayed put in power and died in office and were succeeded by their sons or carefully chosen loyalist. Of course, there were those who had mother luck smile on them and acquired power against all odds like Daniel arap Moi but who in turn stayed put only to be eventually swept aside by historical pressures towards democratization given the push for multi-partyism.

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Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

Jul 18 Comments Off

Return to Addis on A Special Assignment

Posted by Abraham Ameh

Return to Addis on A Special Assignment

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

I returned to Addis Ababa yesterday November 6, 2019 to join a meeting of the Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 4-8 November 2019. I could not join at the beginning as I had a commitment in Lagos on November 5, 2019.

Being back to Addis Ababa is no longer a story. After all, I was here from October 26-30, 2019, to attend an AU meeting that I was duly invited for and arrived only to be told a day after my arrival that it would likely be cancelled and indeed even before I could go through getting a temporary pass, friends told a few Ambassadors who had been in the hall that the meeting had been adjourned sine die.

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Return to Addis on a Special Assignment

Jul 18 Comments Off

Retirement an opportunity to refresh and restart Part 1 & II

Posted by Abraham Ameh

Retirement an opportunity to refresh and restart Part 1 & II

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

It is exactly a year and 3 days that I returned to Lagos, Nigeria after almost 24 years of working at the United Nations at different peace operations. I had cut my teeth inside Somalia for almost 2 years under the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at a time late General Mohamed Farah Aidid wanted to kill meddlesome peacekeepers as a way to drive them out of his country. We relocated to Nairobi, where I continued my work on Somalia for 11 years before moving to Liberia on post-conflict peace keeping mission.

Click link below to download full story in PDF

Retirement an opportunity to refresh and restart Part 1 and II

Jul 18 Comments Off

Relaxing with J.P Clark’s “The Wives Revolt”

Posted by Abraham Ameh

Relaxing with J.P Clark’s “The Wives Revolt”

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

It is usual that family and friends pass comments on my not relaxing enough. I am always put on the defensive. So, when Data Phido sent a short note asking if I was in Lagos last Thursday, and I responded in the affirmative, she offered me four seats at the Command Performance of J.P. Clark’s The Wives’ Revolt which held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos on March 29, 2018. Two repeat performances are scheduled for Sunday, March 31, 2019 and I highly recommend attendance.

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Relaxing with J.P Clark’s The Wives Revolt

Jul 18 Comments Off

President Buhari as I think of Him

Posted by Abraham Ameh

President Buhari as I think of Him

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

Over time, I have learnt that it is best to focus more on what people do than what they say. That does not mean not to pay attention to what people say because there are people who say it as they see it. What they say, you can literally take to the bank. There are others who say the opposite of what they intend to do and as soon as they speak, you know you have to do a lot of analysis to arrive at what they are likely going to do. Then there are those who keep extremely mum as the dust swirls around them. They possibly can see trends and want to avoid being pigeonholed. They either expect the dice to fall in their favour to subsequently rejoice. If the dice doesn’t fall as preferred or even as discretely engineered, they would find it easy to beat a retreat without losing anything. Of course, we can build several personality types along the continuum of those who say what they mean and those who say the exact opposite as well as those who claim to be diplomatic as if diplomacy is the art of lying.

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President Buhari as I think of Him

Jul 18 Comments Off

Participation in Oslo Peace Forum

Posted by Abraham Ameh

Participation in Oslo Peace Forum

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

When Norway is mentioned, many people automatically think about peace. So, on landing in Oslo and picked up by Armir Sheikh, (President Foundation Dialogue for Peace), for the long drive to the city, I felt a lot of peaceful relief as I took in the greenery of the environment and chatted with Aamir who wasted no time in sharing information about his adopted country dotted with lamentations about the country he left as a kid. Bonding with Aamir was very easy as I informed him I had written my PhD dissertation on his country of origin, Pakistan. We agreed our two countries could benefit from peace that accompanies development. I knew his Foundation had joined with the Oslo Centre, headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik to put on a seminar on Peaceful Coexistence, Religious tolerance and human trafficking. The President of the Office of His Royal Highness, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain also provided support for the Seminar.

Click link below to download full story in PDF

Participation in Oslo Peace Forum