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Prominent Angolan
rapper - Luaty Beirão,
better known by his
stage name - Ikonoklasta, and
16 other activists, have been
convicted for allegedly
planning a rebellion against
Angola’s President Jose
Eduardo dos Santos.
Beirão was sentenced to
Continued on Page3>
‘One You’, a ground-
breaking new campaign
to help adults across the
country avoid future diseases caused
by modern day life is reaching out to
Black African and Caribbean
communities across England. OneYou’s aim is to encourage adults from
these communities, in particular those
in their middle age, to take control of
their health to enjoy significant
benefits now, and later in life.
It is well reported that Black
Africans and Caribbeans are more at
risk of preventable diseases like type
2 diabetes, high blood pressure and
stroke than the general population. In
comparison to the general UK
population Black Africans and
Caribbeans are up to 3 times more
likely to have Type 2 Diabetes; twice
as likely to have a stroke; and more
likely to have high blood pressure.
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All Fares SeasonalATOL 9179 Continued on Page 4>
Jailed for planned rebellion (Picture Credit - Pedrowski Teca)
Chris Kamara
Healthquiz: Only'One You',How areyou?
Jailed forrebellingagainstPresident
Jailed forrebellingagainstPresident
Page2 TheTrumpet MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
five-and-a-half years in prison, while the
16 other activists each bagged sentences
that ranged between two and eight and a
half years.
They were arrested last June after
discussing the 1993 book by Gene Sharp
called From Dictatorship to Democracy:A Conceptual Framework for Liberationat their book club.
Fifteen men were arrested and
detained while two women were charged
alongside them, but were not detained. All
17 were initially charged on 16 September
2015 with preparing a “rebellion” and
“plotting against the president.”
On 21 March, after closing arguments,
the Public Prosecutor dropped the charge
of “plotting against the President” but
maintained the “preparatory acts of
rebellion” (actos preparatórios de
rebelião) charge. He also added a new
charge of “criminal conspiracy”
(associação de malfeitores) which is
punishable with a jail term of between two
and 12 years.
The Public Prosecutor argued that they
were planning an uprising among students
and workers “with incalculable
consequences”.
Beirão, was also charged withfalsifying documents, which carries a
maximum penalty of eight years’
imprisonment.
The jailed activists, who belonged to a
youth movement, had previously held
demonstrations calling for a fairer
distribution of the country’s oil wealth and
demanding the resignation of dos Santos,
who has been in power since 1979.
Angola is Africa’s 2nd largest oil producer
after Nigeria.
Amnesty International described the
verdict as an affront to justice that must be
reversed and called for the prisoners’
immediate and unconditional release. The
human rights body has recognised the 15
men and two women as prisoners of
conscience and believes that the court’s
decision that each of the 17 be required to
cover legal costs of approximately £220
as a mockery of justice.
Amnesty International’s Director for
Southern Africa - Deprose Muchena said:
“This ruling flies in the face of justice.
“The activists have been wrongly
convicted in a deeply politicised trial.
They are the victims of a government
determined to intimidate anyone who
dares to question its repressive policies.
“This unjustifiable conviction and
draconian sentences against these peaceful
activists who should never have been
detained at all demonstrate how Angolan
authorities use the criminal justice system
to silence dissenting views.
“Amnesty regards these 17 activists as
prisoners of conscience. They should not
have spent a single day in prison and must
be released immediately and
unconditionally and the convictions
should be quashed.”
Page3TheTrumpetMARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
News
JJaaiilleedd ffoorr rreebbeelllliinnggaaggaaiinnsstt PPrreessiiddeenntt
Angola's media covers the conviction
President dos Santos
Some of the activist including Beirao
Continued from Page 1<
Some of the activists including Beirao in high spirits during the trial
There is also a smoking prevalence of 37%
among Black Caribbean men and 22%
among Black Caribbean women compared
to 22% (men) and 17% (women) in the UK
general population. It is also forecasted that
1 in 4 Black men will get prostate cancer.
Modern day life makes it hard for
people to live healthily, with bigger
portions for everything we eat, a desk-
bound job or a long commute. One Yougives people the chance to reappraise their
lifestyle choices, put themselves first and
do something about their own health
before it’s too late.
Professor Kevin Fenton, National
Director, Public Health England said:
“Many diseases that affect African and
Caribbean people’s health and shorten their
active lives can be prevented. We
acknowledge that there are environmental
pressures that make it difficult for people
to make healthier choices, for example,
working long hours and having to sit eight
hours or more a day at work.
For the first time, Public Health
England is launching a campaign that talks
to adults directly about all of the things
they can do to improve their health. We
want to encourage African and Caribbean
adults to start by taking a new online health
quiz called ‘How Are You’. The short quiz
asks people simple questions about their
habits, health and how they are feeling and
then provides a score with personalised tips
and free tools to help them take action to
improve their health.”
As part of the campaign, football pundit
Chris Kamara features in a new short film
which prompts adults to take a moment in
their busy lives to ask themselves an
important question we rarely have time to
consider seriously: ‘How Are You?’ and
encourage healthy changes by taking the
online health quiz.
Since he hung up his football boots,
Chris has made the commitment to stay fit
and healthy. He wants to remind people
that there’s never been a better time to look
after yourself – after all, there’s only one
you.
Football pundit Chris Kamara said: “As
a former professional footballer, I like to
try and keep in trim as much as I can, but
it is far from easy sometimes when you are
dashing around. I wanted to bring a bit of
fun to being healthy with my film – it
doesn’t have to start with a trek up a
mountain or playing a full ninety minutes
of football. Starting with a walk or a gentle
jog round the block is the way to go, and
the How Are You quiz can put you on the
right path. Making those simple changes
means you can take control of your health
now, and will help you have a big impact in
the future. Give it a go – even if you don’t
like my film!”
One You helps adults to move more, eat
well, drink less alcohol and be smoke-free.
One You will also provide information on
how people can reduce their stress levels
and how to sleep better.
The campaign is being supported by a
wide range of exciting partners meaning
that One You will be part of people’s day-
to-day lives: on the high street, in local
services, in pharmacies and GP surgeries,
on the roads, and when shopping online.
Latest figures show that a life
expectancy at older ages is at record levels,
yet many are spending their retirement
living in ill health. Currently fifteen million
Britons are living with a long-term health
condition, yet studies show living healthily
in middle age can double your chances of
being healthy when you are 70.
For more information and to take the
‘How Are You’ online quiz, search ‘One
You’ online now or visit
www.nhs.uk/oneyou/hay.
Page4 TheTrumpet
TheTrumpet Group
Tel: 020 8522 6600Field: 07956 385 604
E-mail: info@the-trumpet.com
TheTrumpetTeam
PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
’Femi OkutuboAG. EDITOR:
Emeka Asinugo, KSC
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Kimberly Ward
CONTRIBUTORS:
Moji Idowu, Ayo Odumade, Steve Mulindwa
SPECIAL PROJECTS:Odafe Atogun
John-Brown Adegunsoye (Abuja)ESSEX BUREAU:
Olufemi IbiwoyeBusiness Development Manager
DESIGN:Xandydesigns@gmail.com
ATLANTA BUREAU CHIEF:
Uko-Bendi Udo3695 F Cascade Road #2140 Atlanta,
GA 30331 USATel: +1 404 889 3613
E-mail: uudo1@hotmail.com
BOARD OF CONSULTANTS
CHAIRMAN:
Pastor Kolade Adebayo-OkeMEMBERS:
Tunde Ajasa-Alashe Allison Shoyombo, Peter Osuhon
TheTrumpet (ISSN: 1477-3392)is published in London fortnightly
Advertising:
020 8522 6600
MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
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Health quiz: Only 'One You',How are you?Continued from Page 1<
Jovago joined the Citi FM Foundation
on a visit to the Baptist School
Complex & Orphanage (BASCO) to
donate cash and items.
The gesture was part of Jovago’s
corporate social responsibility and falls
directly in line with the company’s core
values. This year marked the tenth year in
which Citi FM have donated to this
orphanage and a special solar plant was
unveiled as part of the company’s effort to
make life comfortable for the children
there.
Items donated to the children included
bags of rice and gari, used clothing, food
items, candy, biscuits, toiletries, and bags
of water, among others.
An undisclosed amount of money was
also donated to the orphans to help make
their lives comfortable while grooming
them to become very important people.
The Managing Director of Jovago
Ghana - Claire Staal said: “It gives us great
joy to be a part of such life touching
activities. It is important to make profit as a
business but we believe it is also very
important to share what you get with people
who do not have the means to provide for
themselves. We stand for hope, love and we
are always finding ways to contribute our
quota in the quest to help these young
children become great people in the near
future. We wish to commend Citi FM on
this great initiative and hope to partner with
them on subsequent donations and
projects.”
BASCO is situated in the isolated small
town of Suhum - Krotor in the Eastern
Region of Ghana, 70 miles inland from
Accra. It sits on a nine-acre parcel of land
between the cities Koforidua and Suhum.
The orphanage was established by
Pastor Victor Ofori-Amoah in 1999 with
four children who were abandoned after
their parents were killed in a road accident,
BASCO is an independent non-
denominational, faith-based organization
which welcomes children of all
backgrounds.
Money Transfer company - Western
Union has launched a video series
called “Stories of Better” in
which ordinary African men and women tell
of how remittances have impacted their
lives.
The short films demonstrate how
remittances have improved day-to-day
living for African communities in education,
health care and small businesses.
“The World Bank estimates that the
African diaspora residing in countries
around the world are over 30 million people.
Entire households and extended families
often depend on remittances from loved
ones abroad to meet their daily needs,” says
Aida Diarra, Regional Vice President
Africa.
“Remittances help to fund education,
provide for improved healthcare, help set up
small businesses, thus enabling sustained
growth and development of communities
around Africa.”
In one segment, a Nigerian wife and
mother of five shares her story, “My
husband produces T-shirts and polos in the
United States. He sends me money via
Western Union. I use that money for my
children, to pay their school fees and my
rent and to meet other everyday needs.”
In another, Joseph Blabo who lives in
Makoko in Lagos used remittances to create
and develop a micro business. He says “I
run a nursery and primary school. This
vision was between me and my uncle. We
thought about how we raise funds, we
contacted an aunt of mine and within a
twinkle of an eye she backed the idea and
sent money to us”.
In yet another testimonial, a Kenyan
woman testifies how remittances saved her
son’s life. She mentions “I have a son. He
was involved in an accident in 2011. The car
lost control, then it rolled three times. When
he was in hospital the bill was very high and
I couldn’t raise money to pay the bill. I
called my sister in America to send the
money. They used Western Union and the
money came very fast. If it was not Western
Union, my son couldn’t get help.”
Through these videos, Western Union
enables the key stakeholders in Africa’s
remittance chain – senders, receivers, agents
and the Western Union corporate team – to
put a face on these men and women, these
everyday African heroes, who leave their
home to find work, who cross continents to
make better lives and build a brighter future
for their loved ones.
Western Union is encouraging all
Africans to share the positive impact that
moving
money has had on their lives.
Individuals can log on to:
http://www.WUAfrica.com/Storiesofbet
ter.html to contribute with their personal
account through photos, testimonials and
videos.
Page5TheTrumpetMARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
News
Western Union launches video onremittances’ impact
Jovago donates to orphans
Jovago supports orphan
Jovago donates to orphans
Page6 TheTrumpet MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
The international hit musical TheBodyguard returned last month to
the West End for a limited six month
run with Beverley Knight playing the title
role of Oscar-nominated superstar Rachel
Marron. Public booking opened for
performances beginning at the Dominion
Theatre on 15 July 2016 playing in this
strictly limited season to 7 January 2017.
Thea Sharrock’s production of TheBodyguard received its world premiere at
the Adelphi Theatre in November 2012
where it opened to critical acclaim with
Heather Headley as Rachel Marron and due
to public demand, the show’s run was
extended. In 2013, Beverley Knight joined
the cast and took over the lead role. The
show continued to play to packed houses
and released a further 300,000 tickets for
sale. Alexandra Burke followed Knight as
Rachel Marron in June 2014 who continues
to play the role in the show’s UK and
Ireland sell-out tour which completes its hit
run in June this year.
International productions of TheBodyguard continue at the Beatrix Theater
in Utrecht, in the Netherlands and the
Musical Dome Theatre in Cologne,
Germany. Both productions opened in
2015 and have been playing to packed
houses and standing ovations since their
first performances. Later this year
productions will open in Korea and Italy
and a US production will open in
November.
Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992
Oscar nominated Warner Bros. film, Thea
Sharrock’s production of The Bodyguardhas a book by Alex Dinelaris. With designs
by Tim Hatley, lighting by Mark
Henderson, sound by Richard Brooker and
video designs by Duncan McLean,
choreography is by Karen Bruce,
orchestrations by Chris Egan with musical
supervision by Richard Beadle, TheBodyguard is produced by Michael
Harrison and David Ian.
Joining Beverley Knight are Rachel
John (Nicki Marron), Carole Stennett
(alternate Rachel Marron), Mark Holden
(Bill Devaney), Alex Andreas (Tony),
Dominic Taylor (Sy Spector), Matthew
Stathers (Stalker) and Glen Fox (Ray
Court). Ensemble members are Faye Best,
Pablo Ceresuela Torres, Carlos Ugarriza
Crespo, Lisa Darnell, Charles Hagerty,
Emma Joy Hopkins, Ibinabo Jack,
Christopher Jeffers, Verity Jones, Phoebe
Liberty, Raul Naranjo Garcia, Mary Lynn
Tiep, Michael Wade-Peters, Matthew
Wesley, Emmy Willow and Mark
Willshire. Final casting, including the role
of Frank Farmer and the young boys who
will alternate the role of Fletcher, will be
announced shortly.
Former Secret Service agent turnedbodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to
protect superstar Rachel Marron from anunknown stalker. Each expects to be incharge; what they don’t expect is to fall inlove. A romantic thriller, The Bodyguardfeatures a whole host of irresistible classicsincluding Queen of the Night, SoEmotional, One Moment in Time, SavingAll My Love, I’m Your Baby Tonight, Runto You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna DanceWith Somebody and one of the greatest hitsongs of all time - I Will Always Love You.
Queen of British Soul - Beverley
Knight is a singer, songwriter and record
producer who has been one of the UK’s
most consistent artists since the release of
her debut album in 1995. She has sold over
a million albums in the UK, scoring several
top 10’s and four gold certified albums as
well as the platinum selling Voice: The Bestof Beverley Knight. To date, she has won
three MOBO Awards, an Outstanding
Achievement Award at the Urban Music
Awards, been three times nominated for
Best Female at the Brit Awards, as well as
for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize
and was also awarded an MBE for her
services to music and charity in 2007.
Knight has presented four series of Radio 2
show Beverley’s Gospel Nights and
appeared in two series of hit BBC1 show
Just The Two of Us as well as appearing on
stage with the likes of Prince, Stevie
Wonder and Take That. In 2012, she
wowed a viewing audience of one billion
with a rendition of the song I Am What I Amat the opening ceremony of the London2012 Paralympic Games. Beverley Knight
originally played the leading role of Rachel
Marron in The Bodyguard at the Adelphi
Theatre to great acclaim in 2013. She
followed this by playing the role of Felicia
in Memphis The Musical at the Shaftesbury
Theatre, for which she was nominated for
an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a
Musical, and recently completed a hugely
successful run at the London Palladium
playing Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s Cats. Knight will be releasing her
eighth studio album this Spring, her first in
almost five years, as well as embarking on
a solo tour across the UK in May and June.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Dates:
15 July 2016 - 7 January 2017
Address:
Dominion Theatre, 268-269 Tottenham
Court Rd, London W1T 7AQ
Performance schedule:
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday Matinees at
3.00pm
At Monday evening and Wednesday
Matinee performances, the role of Rachel
Marron will be played by Carole Stennett.
Tickets:
Box Office 0845 200 7982 (no booking fee)
Previews £25 - £52.50 Monday -Thursday,
£27.50 - £57.50 Friday- Saturday
From 21 July 2016 £25 - £62.50 Monday-
Thursday,
£27.50-£67.50 Friday and Saturday
Day seats A limited number of £25 day
seats will go on sale from the Box Office at
10am on the day of the performance
Website
thebodyguardmusical.com (no booking fee)
@TheBodyguardUK
Page7TheTrumpetMARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016TheArts
The issue of tipping has for a long time causeddebate on the African soil. While the practiceis largely considered as a Western culture,Africans have slowly but surely adopted thenorm.
Most wonder what is debatable about
giving tips. Why people are obliged
to tip service givers all the time; how
much is the standard tip, why people often feel
pressured to tip more than they had budgeted
for; are questions that we all seek to know as
far as tipping in Africa is concerned.
Jovago.com, Africa’s leading online booking
portal, looks at some of the concepts associated
with tipping in the African continent.
Underpayment is a major reason why
service givers expect tips
Most hotels, restaurants and tour companies are
known for under-paying their service givers
such as housekeepers and drivers; such that
they can barely make ends meet. Therefore, tips
from guests go a long way in supplementing
their daily expenses. Originally, tipping was
supposed to show appreciation, but some
employers have since taken advantage to
underpay workers, expecting that the tips will
fill that gap.
Tipping is an incentive
Despite the earlier mentioned adverse
perception, most of us will agree that tipping is
actually a good thing; as long as it is used for
the right purpose. Speaking of purpose, giving
tips is a way of appreciating the service you
have received. In that way, the service provider
will be motivated to offer even better services
next time, not only to the giver but to others as
well.
The amount tipped should be discretionary
As the saying goes, “Blessed is the hand that
giveth”. It is human nature, in most cases, to
feel happy when we freely give others; tipping
is no exception. No one should be forced to give
tips under any circumstance. Rather, if given
satisfactory services, people should feel free to
appreciate their service suppliers with an open
heart. Likewise, service givers should not
always expect to receive
tips in exchange of good
service. This can be a
huge burden particularly
for travellers as tipping
can be such a dilemma in
balancing their budget.
Appreciate when you receive a tip and be
satisfied for delivering a service even if you
don’t.
How much to tip
There is no such a thing as a constant amount
that one is supposed to tip. Since tips should be
a sign of gratitude, only give what you can
afford. Moreover, you alone can evaluate the
value of the service you have received. If you
are extremely pleased, why not appreciate more
as long as you have it. However, you don’t
have to tip if not satisfied with the service. The
choice on how much to tip is all yours.
Tipping is sometimes stereotyped
Do you sometimes wonder why two people
provide similar services and only one gets
tipped? Well in most cases only the tipper can
tell us why he/she chose to tip one and not the
other. But the truth of the matter is, there is a
high possibility that the tipper liked one and
disliked the other; perhaps due to physical
appearance or confidence and the list goes on.
On the other hand, service providers also
stereotype those who tip them. For example, if
one gives a small tip, he/she could be associated
with a particular race, class or status. This can
also apply to one who gives a large tip.
After all is said and done, we agree that
tipping is clearly a sensitive matter of the heart.
We can choose to tip or not. We decide how
much to tip and when to. In some cases, we also
decide who to tip and who not to. So, what’s
your personal opinion about tipping?
Hospitality
Tipping theories in Africa
The Bodyguard returns with Beverley Knight
The Bodyguard - Beverley Knight- photographer Uli Weber
Page8 TheTrumpet MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016 GAB Awards
Continued on Page 9<
Get your event published to a worldwide audience via Trumpet Newspaper, Website and Social Media channels. Call +44 (0)7956 385604 or email info@the-trumpet.com
Faces at the GAB Awards
Page9TheTrumpetMARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016GAB Awards
Get your event published to a worldwide audience via Trumpet Newspaper, Website and Social Media channels. Call +44 (0)7956 385604 or email info@the-trumpet.com
Continued from Page 8<
Faces at the GAB Awards
“Easter greetings”
“Ok”
“I am greeting you”
“I see”
“Are we quarrelling? Or you have
malaria?”
“Can’t you see that I am just not in the
mood?”
“Not in the mood to say same to you?”
“Okay. Same to you”
“This is the season of love, you know.
Our Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross of
Calvary so we may have everlasting life.
He made the ultimate sacrifice so that you
and I can be saved.”
“Keep preaching”
“We must learn to love others and be
prepared to imbibe the virtue of sacrifice.”
“I have never pretended that I want to
be like Jesus Christ. Thank you.”
“His teachings. His example.”
“Good. But look, listen to me, just don’t
go to Kaduna and go about preaching to
people. I hope you know. Keep your
teachings to yourself.”
“Even on a Good Friday? Oh, come on.
Nobody can stop us from proclaiming The
Word. And we need the message of love,
sacrifice and salvation in this land.”
“Sacrifice? Have we not sacrificed
enough?”
“It’s never enough.”
“We haven’t had electricity in our
neighbourhood for a whole week. We can’t
even afford to keep running the generator”
“All that will change.”
“When they have told us there will be
fuel scarcity till May? You may add two
more months to that.”
“No, oh. The Minister was misquoted.
He has since clarified his statement. He said
he was just being sincere.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning the journalists who reported
the story added salt and pepper to his
statement.”
“But have you seen the queues at the
fuel stations?”
“Seen? I spent a whole day looking for
fuel yesterday.”
“Very good. Don’t complain. You were
making sacrifice.”
“I love my country, no matter what. All we
need is just love.”
“Say that to the over 3 million workers
in the food and beverages industry who are
about to lose their jobs.”
“I read that. It is rather scary.”
“Many companies are shutting down, or
downsizing, or they are unable to pay
salaries.”
“Have faith. All that will change. All
these companies sacking people up and
down should also try and make some
sacrifice.”
“Business is business”
“Business should have a human heart.
Sometimes, when I read all those figures
about people being retrenched, I suspect
sabotage.”
“How convenient?”
“What I am saying is that Corporate
Nigeria should be prepared to support the
people and the government.”
“Corporate Nigeria should transform
into a wing of the Red Cross. Very nice.
Well, for your information, the economy is
imploding, the Naira is sick, there is no
electricity, no this, no that, and so
businesses are being disabled.”
“All that will change.”
“You keep saying things will change.
You know I don’t like slogans.”
“The Minister of Finance will soon
write another article about it, and may be if
you have been reading…”
“What article?”
“She likes to write essays to explain
things. Newspaper essays.”
“And who reads that?”
“You should. In one recent article she
said “we are undertaking an ambitiouscounter cyclical strategy to stimulate oursluggish economy….”
“Counter cyclical strategy. Please, I
don’t want to read essays.”
“Don’t worry. Even that will change”
“Go and say that to all the workers who
will not be paid salaries this month end. Go
to the streets of Osun and tell the workers
that in case they don’t receive their salaries,
they should be prepared to make sacrifice.
And that they should understand why their
State got only N6 million allocation this
month.”
“In the spirit of Easter, yes. Why not?”
“If they stone you, don’t expect any
sympathy.”
“Man shall not live by bread alone.”
“Can you stop?”
“We should never lose hope.”
“Sorry, the people want to live by bread.
Right now, yes. And I can tell you they
want to eat rice too”.
“Rice?”
“Yes, rice? Now that the importation of
rice through land borders has been banned,
the cost of rice has gone up again.”
“Land borders? So, rice can only be
imported by air or water? I don’t believe it.”
“I know many families who have
stopped eating rice in this country.”
“It is not that bad. Ah. People like to
exaggerate things. That is why I talk about
blackmail and sabotage. There are
saboteurs in this country. Economy no
good, economy no good, some of the banks
are declaring hundreds of billions as
profit!”
“Who is sabotaging who?”
“You should answer the question
yourself, since you seem to know it all.
Everything I say, you just wave it aside.
What’s eating you up?”
“Nothing. But you too, you are
beginning to sound like members of the
National Assembly.”
“What have they done again? I know
many of the members seem to have a
special talent for comedy.”
“You know the other day, the House of
Representatives hosted the gentleman who
graduated with a 5.0 Grade Point Average
from the University of Lagos. Good idea,
but do you know what the Speaker of the
House said?”
“No”
“He told the fellow that if he wants to
succeed in life, he should not let three
things get into him”
“Which are?”
“Money, women and alcohol”
“Alcohol, yes. I understand that part
about alcohol, but money and women?”
“Male chauvinist. Hypocrite.”
“And the female members of the House
did not protest?”
“By now, they must be used to their
male colleagues always making snide
remarks about women”.
“Do you know the Speaker’s wife?”
“What has that got to do with this
matter, if I may ask?”
“She should be the one to help settle the
matter on behalf of all Nigerian women. He
should deny him food, and constantly
remind him that it is not good for him to
allow a woman get into him.”
“Some of these people are tyrants at
home, you know. They won‘t even allow
their wives to express an opinion. And I tell
you, don’t offer advice to other people’s
wives. That can be dangerous.”
“But have you heard?”
“What again?”
“The Federal Government is planning
to organize a town hall dialogue between
herdsmen and farmers to address the issue
of constant violence between the two
groups.”
“Dialogue? What dialogue? To be
attended by the people of Agatu and the
herdsmen who slaughtered them? And who
are walking free, beyond justice?”
“Dialogue is always healthy”
“Justice first. The solution is simple.
Create grazing reserves. Set up ranches.
This is the 21st Century. Nobody should
graze cattle on highways, airports and on
farmlands.”
“There are cultural issues involved.”
“I don’t know what you are talking
about. They have cattle in other parts of the
world too. Nobody sheds human blood to
preserve the blood of cattle.”
“I think you should attend the dialogue
and offer some ideas.”
“I have said my bit. Certain things are
just straight-forward. Look at the case of
Page10 TheTrumpet MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016 Opinion
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BY REUBEN ABATI
Continued on Page 13<
Signs of the times
Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu
Our neighbours to the West, the
Republic of Benin, have just
concluded a Presidential election,
which has been considered free, fair and
peaceful, from the first round, to the run-off
which produced businessman Patrice Talon
as winner and next President of that country
of about 10 million people. Commentators
have noted with delight the manner in
which incumbent Prime Minister and
Talon’s main challenger, Lionel Zinsou,
graciously admitted defeat even before the
release of final, official results, and
congratulated the winner. Zinsou has been
compared to former Nigerian President,
Goodluck Jonathan. In a continent
threatened by a renewed appetite for sit-
tightism by its leaders, it is exciting that
some politicians are setting good examples.
In the last one year, we have had the
example of Jonathan in Nigeria. And now
Zinsou, in the Republic of Benin. We hope
that there will be more of their kind.
For, indeed, Africa has been raising
some anxiety about the prospects of
democratic consolidation. In Burkina Faso,
the President had to be chased away after
27 years of corrupt and ineffective
leadership. In Congo Brazaville, which
held its election the other Sunday, President
Dennis Sassou Nguesso is sitting tight. The
February 2016 election in Uganda saw
Yoweri Museveni’s forces brutalizing the
main opposition leader, Kizza Besigye.
Two women politicians were also stripped
naked and publicly humiliated for daring to
decamp from the ruling National
Resistance Movement (NRM) to Besigye’s
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). In
Rwanda, President Paul Kagame had to
change the Constitution so he can have a
third term in 2017.
In Burundi, the incumbent President
Pierre Nkurunziza waged a similar war
against the people, leaving over 400 dead,
and he remains in office by force. In
Equitorial Guinea, Gambia, Cameroon and
Zimbabwe, the maximum rulers in power
are determined to die in office. The people
of the Republic of Benin deserve to be
congratulated for further raising our hopes
about the power of the people and the
prospects of democracy in Africa. They
were the true winners. But for me, the hero
is the incumbent President, Thomas Boni
Yayi. When he steps down on April 6, and
hands over power after completing two
terms as President, he will be greatly
missed by his fans and perhaps derided
almost to the same degree by those who
have accused him of running a government
that promoted cronyism, corruption,
clientelism, media repression and official
opaqueness. But my bet is on him being
well-remembered in the long run, for his
services to his nation, the sub-region and
the continent. He also did not try to change
the constitution or manipulate the process.
Patrice Talon, Yayi’s arch-enemy, who
did not pull punches during the campaigns
has accused Boni Yayi of creating a
“Banana Republic” which has become “the
laughing stock of the world.” Talon is
wrong; he is guilty of that newly discovered
disease called Trumpism, named after the
first host of the virus: a certain fellow
currently seeking to be President of the
United States called Donald Trump. Elected
President in 2006, Boni Yayi was again re-
elected in 2011, and although he faced
much opposition, including assassination
attempts, he has managed to survive the
various intrigues that dogged his
Presidency. He has also successfully
organized elections and ensured a smooth
succession.
Zinsou is a member of the ruling party
but there was no evidence that his party or
the incumbent President tried to subvert the
people’s will, despite Yayi’s undisguised
support for him. Domestically, President
Yayi may not have fulfilled all the promises
he made to the people in 2006 and 2011,
but he is leaving behind a country that is
much better today than he met it. The
Republic of Benin used to be a communist
enclave, which has gone through many
transitions, from communist dictatorship to
a Presidential multi-party system. Under
Yayi’s watch, the country’s profile rose.
Benin is far from being a Banana Republic.
Yayi gave his country a new bounce, a
stronger voice and presence within the
international community, and greater
stability within its borders.
President Boni Yayi is also Nigeria’s
very good friend. Nigeria’s relationship
with her Francophone neighbours is a
major plank of her foreign policy process.
The closeness of those Francophone
countries to France and the dominant
influence of France in their affairs has
always been part of the sub-text of our
interaction within the sub-region. Benin is
particularly strategic: close to half of its
population boasts of historical and cultural
connections with Nigeria, making the
geographical boundaries, largely artificial.
Long before Boni Yayi became President,
the relationship with Benin Republic was
not always smooth. The trigger areas
included ideological differences at the time
Benin was a communist enclave under
Mathieu Kerekou. During the civil war
also, there were allegations that Benin
provided a support base for the defunct
Republic of Biafra.
Nigeria is Benin Republic’s main export
market. But it is also the biggest smuggling
route into Nigeria. With the Lagos port not
functioning efficiently, and our customs
tariffs so high, Nigerian businessmen found
solace in the Cotonou port, creating a
revenue crisis for Africa’s largest economy,
and informal trade link that has not been
properly measured. Anything that could be
smuggled into Nigeria went through the
Cotonou port. It still happens. Across the
land border between the two countries, the
Beninoise gendarmes constituted
themselves into a threat to Nigerian
communities. They still pose a threat, but
just occasionally now. Due to the factor of
proximity, Nigeria’s biggest challenge with
its immediate neighbours has always been
one of security. Criminals have turned
trans-border organized crime into a major
source of economic leakage and basic
insecurity. There was the case of one
Hamani Tijani based in Benin Republic
who operated across the border. Nigerian
criminals also commit atrocities inside the
country and they slip into neighbouring
Benin. The borders between both countries
have been porous forever.
There are many Nigerians living in
Benin Republic and vice versa due to
linguistic and cultural affinity. But whereas
in Nigeria, we accommodate our
neighbours living among us, Nigerians
living in Benin Republic have not always
had it easy. In one instance, Nigerians in
Benin were repatriated in their thousands.
What has been demonstrated is that Benin
Republic’s closeness to and seeming
dependence on Nigeria could pose a threat
to Nigeria’s security. For example, petrol
smuggled from Nigeria finds a ready
market in Benin Republic. In 2003, former
President Olusegun Obasanjo had to close
down the border between the two countries.
Benin’s economy went into instant coma.
In 2006, Boni Yayi assumed office as
Page11TheTrumpetMARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
Opinion
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Boni Yayi: Our friend next door By Reuben Abati
Continued on Page 13<
Page12 TheTrumpet MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016 Opinion
It will soon hit the one-year anniversary of
the new “change” Buhari government.
And while there is plenty to rejoice over
and much to thank God for escaping from; it
appears that as Nigeria takes two steps
forwards it also takes two steps backwards.
This is quite commendable, don’t get it
wrong. Zero advancement is a good deal
better than where the nation is coming from.
Nigeria used to be in reverse. The nation was
even speeding in reverse. So zero acceleration
calls for celebration.
It is also important to mention that
considering the challenges inherited due to
where we were and the state of the global
economy, zero is further commendable. But
the question is: can we ever do better and
actually solve our problems faster than they
are created to advance beyond this status?
Corruption and Padding TinsAs Nigeria addressed corruption, arresting
tons of suspects from the old gang, so also did
the nation face one of the largest scandals in
budgeting history. Borrowing the President’s
words, “all my life, I have never heard of
budget padding before.” Nigeria’s budget was
ridiculously padded. Government officials
hid largesses that were not only humongous
but also wicked. The Presidency’s offices got
larger allocations than the entire collective
schools of the country; it’s clinic got larger
lots than all public hospitals combined.
Ministers put projects like a single borehole at
the cost of building a thousand. It was
corruption at its finest.
Over a month later, no one has been
arrested for this corruption, a few were
simply moved to other departments, one or
two were fired and implicated ministers and
other officials are still in office. Unlike
neighboring Ghana where corrupt Ministers
are immediately sacked, Nigeria embraced its
continued corruption. In fact, the new budget
that just got passed still had most of the
padding in it. The Senate reportedly just
allowed it pass in the desperate need to move
the nation forward at the risk of contractors
of the government officials helping them
swallow millions of dollars hidden in the
padded allocations. The borehole is still to be
built by the Minister of Works and Housing at
$750,000. A world record!
Politics
President Buhari admitted today that he had
failed as far as politics goes. He confessed
that he failed with the Kogi polls, the Bayelsa
polls and the Rivers polls. That’s all the polls
there have been since he entered office. The
Kogi polls had the ruling party fielding a
dying candidate simply to grab the spot. It
also witnessed a never before-heard-of
gymnastics of replacing a governorship
candidate mid-race with another person all
together. I am sure the Tribunal is going to
knock that one out; but so far, it has been a
sham. Kogi State lacks a deputy governor and
you cannot blame Faleke for that.
In do or die politics, Bayelsa State
witnessed the APC embracing the same
corrupt men from the PDP; fighting an
impossible battle and refusing to accept that
they can never win the State, most especially
when all they offer the people is the same’ol
corruption as alternative with no thought of
giving the people a chance with someone of
decency.
Rivers was one of the most shameful
political episodes in recent global politics.
Dozens died including serving Youth corpers
and soldiers. What a shame. For
unexplainable reasons, the results are yet to
be released. So one way or the other, these
people died in perfect vain!
Soldiers were sent to Rivers, but what
their orders were, is in question. This is
because there is a pristine video that shows
an alleged above-the-law APC candidate
brazenly storm an INEC office and openly
demand a refund of the bribe money he paid.
While the candidate vandalized the office, the
police and soldiers stationed simply watched!
What orders Buratai gave them is in question.
Was it the type of orders given to officers who
took part in EkitiGate? If these officers were
dispatched to uphold justice and maintain
peace, then they would have immediately
arrested the alleged APC candidate who was
terrorizing the center. What happened to
Chief of Army Staff Buratai staing that he and
his men are the trigger-eager defenders of
Nigeria’s democracy? As Buhari said, it is a
failure.
Economy
Nigerias’s economy is in shambles. The
government is moving staccato. It is making
and reversing policies. While it strives to
create jobs, millions of jobs are being lost due
to brutal foreign exchange policies that limit
small businesses while only protecting the
same old big corporations of dem Dangote
and the like.
Small businesses are the largest
employers in Nigeria, employing more than
75% of the workforce. Millions of businesses
are folding, leaving more youths
unemployed. Recently Kano state
complained that millions in the pure-water
sachet line were losing their jobs because of
raw-material costs. The same trend is being
witnessed across the nation with so many
small businesses in massive debt and closing
their offices.
While the Buhari government creates jobs
here and there, jobs that were before are gone.
When will the creating rate catch-up with
what has been lost before we move from
point zero? I do not know. I am not an
economist, but I do know that where people
are unemployed and cannot put food on their
tables, patience quickly wears thin.
Petrol
What is so hard in importing refined fuel?
President Buhari promised that he was going
to incorporate the thousands of local
refineries into the fuel chain. I am not sure
this was more than just a promise like the one
they made to the Civilian-JTF to incorporate
them into paid national defense formations,
which is no where near materializing, as these
30,000+ boys left fallow promise to be an
issue to our redevelopment. But not to divert
from the topic. What’s really up with Nigeria
giving its people the fuel they pay refined cost
plus profit for? It’s not like the citizens pump
fuel into their vehicles for free is it? They pay
cost price plus profit for what they use, so
why is it impossible to satisfy the national
demand till some months to come as
promised? If it was Jonathan, I would have
said he was clueless and surrounded by
fellow inebriated scavengers who had no
ideas and were only preoccupied with filling
their bellies. But it is Buhari and it is only
about a year. So I ask, what’s up?
Ultra-Wicked Power
Do we need go there? Is there a quick fix to
power? I would say there might be one; but if
there is, this government is not finding it.
Nigeria’s power generation has hit all time
lows in recent days. Everything has been
blamed from vandals to strike-actions. Would
it not be wise the Ministry of Power opens the
sector up completely for all big and small
businesses and individuals to venture into
power generation, distribution and selling? In
the United States, if you generate more power
for your home than you consume, your meter
runs in reverse and you are paid by the
electric companies for the power you have
sold to them. I am not sure this obtains in
Nigeria. In any case, elitist Fashola is at the
helm of it, dishing extra charges for services
not yet provided. The Senate called it ultra-
wicked, and rightly so. We had predicted it.
Fashola is a cabal person. If and when Nigeria
gets power, Fashola’s cabal friends will have
been set-up to rake in a killing from Nigerians
for eternity in unjustified levies. As is with
Nigeria’s mobile networks and cement
oligopoly, you can bet your betweens that
when Nigeria finally has power, the country
will pay the highest rate in the world for it.
Unrest and Terror
On terror, while Nigeria has apparently been
quite successful in dealing with Boko Haram,
the nation has been wiling and desperately
attempting to create the very same terror, just
as Boko Haram was created by the Obasanjo
and predecessor Jonathan governments of the
past.
Nigeria is provoking people and
oppressing them to the point of riot and
rebellion. We must be grateful for the
patience and peaceful nature of the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria; because we all know
that had it been any other group in Nigeria
that had been so brutalized and continued to
be so oppressed, they would have resorted to
some form of civil or uncivil disobedience by
now. But the provocation and desperation to
evolve new terrorists does not just end with
the Zaria massacre. Nigeria is refusing to
receive and review the genuine agitations of
the East. We cannot deny the millions
protesting for self-determination. Denying
this reality is to our peril. Nigeria is remaining
unwise not to look into the practical
approaches to addressing the agitation, be it
by referendum or other means. The kettle is
boiling.
The Agatu people are also being
provoked to disobedience. They have
watched the government condone terror
against them. They have watched the
government refuse to arrest murderers and
terrorists who killed them and burned down
their homes. While the Agatu people may not
be the ones that directly approach resolution
and the pursuit of justice via violent means, it
may be some other sympathizers who may do
so on their behalf. I do not believe this
government can risk continuing to play with
its goodwill.
Similar acts of what may be regarded as
insolence and oppression have been
conducted by the new government as we try
to move forward. A High court judge just
called the Nigerian military and Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, bullies
and terrorists who believed they were in the
military dictatorship era for detaining people
illegally for prolonged periods without trial.
A nation cannot move forward as long as
institutionalized disenfranchisement is
promoted and people feel neglected and
oppressed. This was the cause of terror in the
past and we hope we are not again planting
the seeds of terror for the future; because
then, what will be the use of the advancement
we may have made? The universal laws of
entropy state that while it takes high energy
and time to build, breakdown is a rapid,
favored process that even lets off energy. It
didn’t take long to destroy advanced Libya
and Syria, did it?
We hope and we pray.
God bless Nigeria.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah is of EveryNigerian Do Something (ENDS), Twitter:@EveryNigerian.
Are Nigeria’s problems impossible to solve?Dr. Peregrino Brimah
President Buharipresenting 2016 budget
Page13TheTrumpetMARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016Opinion
the three girls who were abducted from
Babington Junior Seminary in Ikorodu,
Lagos State.”
“Yes?”
“The principal of the school is saying the
suspect in the matter has been sending text
messages asking for forgiveness and
prayers”
“He certainly needs prayers.”
“No. He doesn’t need prayers. He should be
handed over to the police and made to pay
for his crime. He abducted three young girls
for six days and he is asking for prayers!
We pray too much. We talk too much. And
it is a shame that anybody is listening to his
request for prayers.”
“Young girls in Nigeria are really
endangered. I was reading another story
about a female student at the Queen’s
College, Lagos, whose parents reported that
she was molested by a male teacher.”
“I read that too. But there are too many
versions of that story. What is certain is
that the right of young girls to grow up
without being molested and abused by
older men must be protected. You check the
newspapers, there is a hardly a day you
won’t read a story about young girls being
raped or abducted. What is wrong with
Nigerian men? Grown up women no longer
appeal to them?
“Please don’t generalize. Say some
Nigerian men. Don’t join people who label
all Nigerians.”
“Okay. Okay. At least, I can vouch for
you. And I am certainly a gentleman. And if
anyone is caught abusing a girl-child, that
person should be punished.”
“In the UK, they just sent a footballer to
prison for six years for having unlawful
carnal knowledge of a 15-year old girl.”
“Good. Good. Who is he?”
“Adam Johnson. He used to play for
Sunderland.”
“Never heard of him. But I hope Yunusa
Yellow and all such men in Nigeria also get
their day in court.”
“What’s the latest from Rivers State,
after the re-run election?”
“Nothing. Bad blood. Politics of hate.
Rivers of blood. My heart goes out to the
families of all the people who were
murdered during that election.”
“That was sad. It is so painful to see
how people shed blood because of politics.”
“Oh, you are not talking about sacrifice,
again?”
“I am not talking about that kind of
sacrifice. If people have to die to elect their
own representatives, it is a sign of sickness
in society.”
“Looks like INEC has changed. If they
can’t organize common re-run, how will
they manage a general election?”
“Ha.”
“Too much ego in that their Rivers
State. It was a fight-to-finish re-run. I just
hope the outstanding elections will not
again result in violence.”
“In fact, no member of the NYSC
should agree to serve as an ad hoc staff for
INEC again in Rivers State.”
“Governor Nyesom Wike says the State
government will immortalize Samuel
Okonta, the youth corps member, who was
killed. He has also increased the monthly
allowance for youth corps members serving
in the State”
“Immortalize?”
“Yes”
“But will that bring the dead back to
life?”
“I know. Really sad. National Service
yes, but these youth corps members should
not be exposed to danger. You remember
how they are always the victims during
elections.”
“I do. Nobody at all should die during
elections. Electoral violence must be
prevented by all means and whenever it
occurs, sanctions must be applied.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, no government has ever
promised magic.”
“Well, at least, they now have a budget.
Has anybody analyzed what was passed by
the National Assembly?”
“Please. The analysis is enough.
Enough analysis.”
“I think the Ministry of Finance will
still make some presentations.”
“Can you tell them not to bother? Ha,
ha. Wetin?”
“Have a Happy Easter.”
“You, too.”
Signs of the timesContinued from Page 10<
Boni Yayi: Our friend next doorPresident. In fairness to him, he took
Nigerian-Benin relations far more seriously
than did his predecessors. As spokesman to
President Jonathan, I had the privilege of
watching him closely. President Yayi was
always a delightful visitor. He referred to
President Jonathan always as his “elder
brother”, and his own country, the Republic
of Benin as “Nigeria’s 37th State.” He didn’t
just say it. He meant it. And he repeated that
phrase at every turn. Of course, he wasn’t
asking Nigeria to annex his country. It was
his way of emphasizing the strategic
importance of good relations between both
countries.
Throughout his tenure as President, he
has managed to build a strong, personal
relationship with every Nigerian President,
starting with President Obasanjo whom he
refers to as “his father.” In his position as
Chairperson of the African Union, and as
mediator on many issues within ECOWAS,
President Boni Yayi always supported the
Nigerian interest. No other Francophone
country or leader within the sub-region has
tried as much to build a stronger
relationship with Nigeria. It should
therefore not be surprising that under Boni
Yayi’s watch, the frictions that used to
affect Nigeria-Benin relations were reduced
to the barest minimum.
The lesson of this is that country-to-
country or government-to-government
relations are often influenced by the
chemistry between the leaders of the
respective countries. Boni Yayi has proven
himself to be a great diplomat within the
sub-region and a forthright marketer of his
country’s interests. It was indeed proper
that President Muhammadu Buhari not only
attended Benin Republic’s 55th
Independence anniversary last August but
that the government also provided logistics
support to ensure the success of this
month’s Presidential elections in that
country. The principle of reciprocity
requires that we support countries, which
extend the hands of fellowship and co-
operation towards us. The only problem
with our foreign policy process is that we
often do not know where to draw the line
and act in enlightened self-interest. We
must keep an eye on Patrice Talon as he
assumes office as the President of the
Republic of Benin. He seems to have a
talent for the melodramatic.
It will be in his interest to learn from
President Boni Yayi and seek to sustain a
tradition of amity and brotherliness that has
resulted in better Nigeria-Benin relations
since 2006. Patrice Talon may be tempted
to embark on an internal mission of
vengeance, and extend that arrogance
beyond the borders. His supporters are
already suggesting that as soon as Boni
Yayi loses his immunity on April 6, Talon
who was once accused of being part of a
plot to poison President Yayi (he was
pardoned in 2014) should take his pound of
flesh. The “King of cotton” as he is called,
should resist the likely temptation to follow
the script of the sycophants who are now
getting ready to call the tunes of his
Presidency.
The people of the Republic of Benin by
voting for an opposition candidate have
spoken clearly that they want change. The
change that they seek cannot be the
humiliation or the harassment of Boni Yayi.
They want a different kind of change.
Despite post-communist era stability, Benin
remains one of the poorest countries in the
world. The people want greater prosperity,
they want the challenges of energy and
infrastructure and access to education
further addressed; they want a more
productive economy, they want jobs, they
want national progress. Focusing on these
priorities will move Benin Republic closer
to the people’s expectations, and indeed
beyond the politics of vendetta which
seems to be a growing sore point in Africa’s
politics of succession.
Thomas Boni Yayi
Continued from Page 11<
Page14 TheTrumpet MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
Guyana. The name rises from the
indigenous mists, meaning Landof Many Waters in a long-extinct
Amazonian tongue. Inky rivers cut the
dense rainforest like veins, criss-crossing
tangles of jungle. Football, in this tiny
country tucked away in the northeast
corner of South America, is the lifeblood.
“Everybody plays in the streets here,”
Vurlon Mills, a rising star in the national
team, told FIFA.com. “When there’s no
work, a ball hits the ground and it’s game
on. Boom, just like that.”
The country borders Brazil on its
southern edge. Most people live clustered
on a narrow strip of Atlantic coast in the
north. Once a Dutch holding and later a
British agricultural outpost, football came
to Guyana on the waves. The Golden
Jaguars, as the national team is known,
pulled on their yellow shirts for the first
time in 1905. Now, more than a century
later, they’re rising again. A six-spot jump
to 156th in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola
World Ranking is evidence of steps in the
right direction.
Ameri-bbean“We’re at a crossroads!” Mills added,
addressing the country’s curious position
at a cultural and geographic nexus.
Located in South America, Guyana plays
its football in the Caribbean. It’s the only
English-speaking country on the South
American continent and it’s a member of
both the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) and the Union of South
American Nations. “We’re not one thing
or another,” he added, his creole patoishinting of the Caribbean islands that dot
the waters past Guyana’s coastline.
Travel in and out of the capital of
Georgetown is complicated at best. “We
play our neighbours Suriname all the
time, but getting farther than that is
tough,” Mills said, good humoured about
the complications of life as a footballer
on the fringes. “Travelling anywhere
down here is almost as hard as a training
session. Three and four connecting
flights. You need a day to recover!”
Guyana’s international trajectory
mimic the rivers that carve the
countryside, flowing north and then south
– stagnating for long stretches. They went
16 years without playing a game after
losing their first. But things took a turn
early in the current century. Guyana only
just missed out on qualifying for the 2007
CONCACAF Gold Cup, and, in
November 2010, they reached an all-time
high ranking of 86 globally. In 2012, they
pulled off their biggest achievement to
date when they knocked Trinidad and
Tobago out of the running for the 2014
FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and reached
the second group stage in CONCACAF
qualifying.
In those heady days the Jaguars
boarded planes, changed flights several
times, and arrived bleary-eyed in Mexico
City to hear their national anthem played
through the loudspeakers at the Estadio
Azteca, venue of two World Cup Finals.
It was a long way from Providence
Stadium, the cricket ground in
Georgetown where they play their home
games.
“Those were incredible times,” said
Mills, a creative central midfielder short
of stature but loaded with tricky footwork
born on the bumps of Guyana’s rough
streets. “Teams like Costa Rica, like
Mexico, are the next level. I loved it.
You’ve got nothing to lose and
everything to prove,” said the player, who
was substituted off in a 7-0 hammering in
Costa Rica. “When the crowds are huge
and hostile. You learn something about
yourself.”
A lesson it was for Guyana, who
earned only one point in the group, from
a draw with El Salvador. They scored five
times in the course of six games and
conceded 24, even though their line-up
include former England-based star Carl
Cort, local favourite Ricky Shakes and
current captain Chris Nurse of the Puerto
Rico FC in USA’s second tier.
New league, new number
A win last month against neighbours
Suriname sees Guyana, coached by
former Trinidad and Tobago boss Jamaal
Shabazz, on the move again. Out of the
running for Russia 2018 after losing to St.
Vincent and the Grenadines, Mills still
sees reason for optimism.
“This new league of ours has changed
things,” he said, of the eight-team GFF
Elite League established last year. It’s the
closest thing to professional in the
country. Slingerz – the side that Mills
captains – are out in front and favourites
to take the inaugural title. “Things were
disorganised before, but this new league
gives the local guys like me a chance to
play at a high level, and to be seen. The
national team player pool will keep
growing now.”
With the unmistakable guile of street
football and a new dawn of
professionalism and structure, Mills is
convinced the Golden Jaguars are on the
cusp of a balance, so difficult to reach. “A
lot of the guys weren’t exposed to the
basics early,” he added, an Atlantic wind
crackling the phone line. “But that’s
changing. The tactics and the smarts are
starting to bleed through.”
Page15TheTrumpetMARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016Sport
From the streets: Guyana on the riseBy FIFA.com
Guyana's playersTreyon Bobb (L)and Vurlon Mills(C) vie for the ballwith Costa RicanJose LuisCordero
Research by the University of Glasgow
reveals that humans and lions can live
together.
Humans and lions can coexist through the
creation of community conservancies – privately
protected areas that engage local people in
conservation and ecotourism. These
conservancies can help stem the unrelenting loss
of lions, whose population has been in decline
across Africa, and pose a viable solution to an
old problem.
The paper, by researchers from the
University of Glasgow’s Institute of
Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative
Medicine, the conservation group Living With
Lions and the University of Hohenheim’s
Biostatistics Unit, shows that lion populations
have increased substantially within Kenya’s
Masai Mara ecosystem over the last decade, and
that the creation of community conservancies,
which distributes tourism income to local
people, has had the greatest impact on lion
survival.
The data, published in the Journal ofApplied Ecology, demonstrate that the financial
benefits of conservancy membership can help
protect the lion population, and even allow it to
grow, by changing the local attitudes towards
wildlife.
Lions are often killed in retaliation for
causing significant costs to rural people through
attacks on their livestock. Until now, the benefit
of conservancies for protecting large carnivores
has been largely unknown.
Sara Blackburn, lead author of the paper,
tracked lion prides for five years within Kenya’s
Masai Mara region, on the northern side of the
Serengeti National Park, building up a database
of observations using the lions’ whisker spot
patterns to identity individuals over time.
She said: “We know that lion populations
are declining right across Africa, but
moratoriums on trophy hunting don’t prevent
local people from killing lions, and fences stifle
ecosystems. So we looked at the question ‘Are
there any scenarios in which lions can live
alongside people and their livestock?’”
There has been a dramatic decline in lion
populations in nearly all the areas where lions
and people overlap, indicating that habitat
fragmentation and human wildlife conflict has
been a major driver behind this loss. However,
the researchers found that in the Masai Mara
conservancies, the opposite effect was occurring
– a significant increase in lion survival.
Conservancy membership provides
households with financial benefits from wildlife
tourism and engenders an attitude of coexistence
with wildlife. The net effect is that people
become more tolerant of lions because they
attract tourists and bring an alternative source of
income to landowners.
Dr Grant Hopcraft, corresponding author on
the paper said: “The most important finding in
this study is that community conservancies are a
viable way to protect wildlife and pose an
alternative solution to building fences. If we are
concerned about the population of lions, we
need to let the people who actually live with the
lions benefit from their existence.”
The study illustrates that community
conservancies are a good strategy for the future
protection of lion populations and provides a
practical solution to the problem, especially in
areas where the expense of fencing is not a
realistic option.
Dr Laurence Frank, director of Living With
Lions, adds: “Due to rapid human population
growth, wildlife has been in free-fall across most
of Africa. Only local people can reverse the
downward spiral, and this study shows that
profits from tourism can motivate rural people
to tolerate rather than eliminate wild animals.”
The research illustrates a very positive
finding – community conservation allows
people to coexist with wildlife by bringing
benefits, not costs, to the people who live
alongside it. National wildlife policies should
therefore focus on developing opportunities,
rights and responsibilities for wildlife
conservation outside parks and reserves for
private landholders and communities.
This study, ‘Can predators persist in
community-based conservancies? Human-
wildlife conflict, benefit sharing and the survival
of lions in pastoralist wildlife regions’ was
published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. It
was conducted as part of Living With Lions’
Mara Predator Project, funded by the Banovich
Wildscapes Foundation, Panthera, the Wildlife
Conservation Society, Kicheche Trust,
Basecamp Foundation, and private donors, the
German Research Foundation. This project also
received funding from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme.
Page16 TheTrumpet MARCH 30 - APRIL 12 2016
TheTrumpet is published in London fortnightly by Trumpet
Tel: 020 8522 6600 Field: 07956 385 604 E-mail: info@the-trumpet.com (ISSN: 1477-3392)
News
Humans and lions can live together
Anew report on London’s inequalities has
found that African communities in the
capital are facing some of the most
unequal challenges, especially on poor living
conditions.
40% of Africans in London live in
overcrowded accommodation. The second worst
affected group was Bangladeshi, with 36%
suffering housing inequality.
On average Black African people are three
times more likely to experience overcrowding
compared to White British people. The average
housing inequality for Black Africans in London
was -26%. Between 2001 and 2011 the extent of
inequality fell by an average 5.2%. The worst
housing inequality was in Barking &
Dagenham, Waltham Forest and Croydon.
Almost every ethnic minority group
experienced employment disadvantages
compared to White British people. Between
2001 and 2011 Black African unemployment
rose from 13.2% to 15.1%.
Black African people experience
employment inequality in every borough in
London.
On average Black African people
experienced 3 times as much unemployment as
White British people in London: 5% compared
to 15%. The highest level of employment
inequality for Black Africans was in Kingston,
Greenwich and Islington.
On education, Black African 16-24 year olds
faced educational inequality in 38% of
boroughs. The boroughs with the best
educational outcomes for Black African young
people were Waltham Forest, Islington and
Southwark, and the boroughs in which Black
African young people had the largest
educational advantage are Barking & Dagenham
and Brent.
On health, Black African people
experienced health inequality in 38% of
boroughs. The average inequality of all the
boroughs was +1.3%, this means Black Africans
have a net advantage over White British people.
The worst health inequality for Black Africans
was in Kingston, Islington and Hillingdon.
Between 2001 and 2011 the Black African
population grew by 32% from 5.3% to 7.0% of
London’s population. The Black African
population is greatest in Southwark (16%),
Newham (12%) and Lambeth (12%).
Farah Elahi, Runnymede’s research and
policy analyst and one of the report’s authors,
said: “We found that all ethnic groups in London
were more likely to live in overcrowded housing
than the white population. Black Africans were
the worst affected, with 40% overcrowded. We
are calling on the next Mayor of London to work
with local boroughs and communities to tackle
this issue.”
African Londoners sufferthe worst housing