Africa
Africa needs to end poverty to earn respect globally — Adesina
Africa needs to end poverty to earn respect globally — Adesina
Africa will not earn respect globally until we end poverty at scale, says Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank, AfDB.
Mr Adesina stated this on Tuesday, in Lagos at the 40th Anniversary Lecture of The Guardian and the Public Presentation of the Guardian Federalist Papers titled, “Federalism is the Answer.”
Speaking on the topic of the lecture, “For the World to Respect Africa,” Adesina said for way too long, Africa had allowed poverty to linger pervasively in the midst of plenty.
According to him, poverty, is abnormal, especially when resources are vast and when it has been pervasive for so long.
He said Africa should not become a museum of poverty, adding that to reverse this trend, there must be a public accountability component.
Expressing disappointment in the continents current state, Adesina said poverty must not become the comparative advantage of Africa, despite housing half of the world’s gold and one-third of all the minerals in the world.
“Our governments must realise that it is their responsibility to lift all their people out of poverty and into wealth as fast as possible.
“It is doable. We have seen clear examples of such progress in other regions of the world, especially in Asia over the past three decades.
“There is no reason why acute poverty cannot be eradicated in Nigeria and across Africa. We have to become a continent that grows inclusive and well distributed wealth.”
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Using South Korea as an example, Adesina said the country moved from GDP per capita that was $350 in the 1960s when it got independence, to approximately $33,000 in 2023.
This, he said, is the kind of quantum leap that Africa needs rather than attempting to alleviate poverty.
“We must really ask ourselves, when will we make the shift that South Korea made from being a country that was one at the low end of the development ladder to a rich, industrialised nation that it is today?
“We simply must turn the tide. Ultimately, we must put ourselves in a position where we also can give. that is how Africa will earn respect,” Adesina said.
Speaking on resources, Adesina said there was something fundamentally wrong in the management of natural resources.
He noted that if natural resources continued to be mismanaged, Africa would remain stuck.
“Consequently, in the midst of plenty, majority of people remain poor. I have urged African governments to stop securing loans backed by their natural resources.
“That is because those natural resource backed loans are not transparent. They are expensive and make debt resolution very difficult.”
The AfDB president said the resources of a country do not belong in the pockets of powerful and rich individuals but for the benefit of the people of that country.
Africa needs to end poverty to earn respect globally — Adesina
Africa
Fulani herdsmen from Nigeria kill five Cameroonian soldiers, says MP
Fulani herdsmen from Nigeria kill five Cameroonian soldiers, says MP
Gunmen from Nigeria have killed at least five Cameroonian soldiers and wounded several others in the village of Bakinjaw on Cameroon’s border with Nigeria, a member of parliament for the district and a traditional leader said.
It is the latest in a series of attempts to seize territory in the area.
Aka Martin Tyoga, MP for the district of Akwaya in southwestern Cameroon, where the incident took place, told Reuters the attack happened early on Friday, when hundreds of armed Fulani herdsmen crossed the border from Taraba State in Nigeria to attack a military post.
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He said it was a retaliation after Cameroonian soldiers killed several herdsmen the day before.
Agwa Linus, traditional ruler of Bakinjaw, said the attackers also burnt down his home.
“This is not the first time they are attacking – it’s very unfortunate,” he said.
Fulani herdsmen from Nigeria kill five Cameroonian soldiers, says MP
Africa
Ghana President Akufo-Addo’s address disrupted as ADC collapses (Video)
Ghana President Akufo-Addo’s address disrupted as ADC collapses (Video)
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s last State of the Nation address in Parliament on Friday was interrupted when his aide-de-camp (ADC) collapsed.
In a viral video, the ADC, identified by Ghana Web as Colonel Isaac Amponsah, fell midway into Mr Akufo-Addo’s address before the Ghana parliament
Before he collapsed, Mr Amposah showed discomfort but could not help himself from falling to the ground.
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The incident briefly interrupted the President’s address but he resumed his presentation after a few minutes, after the ADC was carried to a corner of the auditorium for medical attention.
The aide-de-camp of the Vice President, a police officer immediately took over to stand behind the president.
As at the thime of this report, the cause of Amponsah’s collapsed is yet to be ascertained.
The President's bodyguard collapses in parliament as Akufo-Addo reads the State of the Nation address.#TV3GH #SONA pic.twitter.com/0ZhDYuhr6T
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) January 3, 2025
Ghana President Akufo-Addo’s address disrupted as ADC collapses (Video)
Africa
Panic as huge space object crashes into Kenyan village
Panic as huge space object crashes into Kenyan village
A massive, fiery object fell from the sky into a remote village in Kenya on Monday afternoon, causing alarm among locals and prompting an immediate investigation by the Kenya Space Agency (KSA).
The KSA confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that the object was a fragment of a space object. The debris, described as a metallic ring, landed in the village of Mukuku in Makueni County. Measuring approximately 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) in diameter and weighing 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds), the object has been taken into custody by the agency.
“The Agency wishes to clarify that the object, a metallic ring measuring approximately 2.5 meters in diameter and weighing about 500 kg, is a fragment of a space object,” the KSA stated.
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Preliminary analysis suggests the object could be a separation ring from a rocket, according to the agency. It noted that such space debris typically burns up in the atmosphere or falls into the ocean.
This incident highlights the increasing congestion of Earth’s orbit, with satellites and other objects creating challenges for managing space debris.
Julius Rotich, Mbooni Sub County Police Commander, told the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation that the object was still hot when officers arrived. Residents were kept at a safe distance until the debris cooled.
The broadcaster aired footage of the object, showing it entangled in trees and surrounded by police tape, as curious villagers looked on.
The KSA is continuing its investigation to determine the origin of the debris. While the agency suggests this is an isolated incident, it underscores the growing risks associated with falling space objects.
Panic as huge space object crashes into Kenyan village
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