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World leaders pay tribute to Gorbachev, last rare leader of USSR, who dies at 91
World leaders have paid tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader who oversaw the collapse of the USSR and lifted the Iron Curtain, marking a pivotal turning point in world history.
Gorbachev, Nobel prize winner, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday at the age of 91, hospital officials in Moscow said.
The passing of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union and for many the man who restored democracy to then-communist-ruled European nations, was mourned Wednesday as the loss of a leader who changed the world and for a time gave hope for peace among the superpowers.
Here are some of the reactions to his death from across the world.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin expressed his “deep sympathies” over Gorbachev’s death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
“Tomorrow he will send a telegram of condolences to his family and friends,” said Peskov.
UN chief Antonio Guterres
Guterres in a statement praised Gorbachev as “a one-of-a-kind statesman who changed the course of history” and “did more than any other individual to bring about the peaceful end of the Cold War”.
The statement, which was posted on Twitter, said the world has lost “a towering global leader, committed multilateralist and tireless advocate for peace”.
French President Emmanuel Macron
Macron praised Gorbachev as a “man of peace” and sent his “condolences for the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, a man of peace whose choices opened up a path of liberty for Russians. His commitment to peace in Europe changed our shared history”.
US President Joe Biden
Biden hailed Gorbachev as a “rare leader” who made the world a safer place.
“These were the acts of a rare leader – one with the imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it,” Biden said in a statement, referring to Gorbachev’s democratic reforms.
“The result was a safer world and greater freedom for millions of people. Mikhail Gorbachev was a man of remarkable vision,” Biden added.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed Gorbachev as a “trusted and respected leader” who “opened the way for a free Europe”.
His “crucial role” in bringing down the Iron Curtain, which symbolised the division of the world into communist and capitalist blocs, and ending the Cold War left a legacy “we will not forget”, she wrote on Twitter.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he “always admired the courage and integrity” Gorbachev showed to bring the Cold War to a peaceful conclusion.
“In a time of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, his tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all,” he said in a Twitter post, referring to Moscow’s offensive in its former Soviet neighbour.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Kishida noted Gorbachev’s important role in the reduction of nuclear weapons held by the Soviet Union and United States, saying he had made “great achievements.”
“Mr. Gorbachev, who possessed great strategic vision and decisive execution, played a very important role,” he said.
Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, forged arms reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War Two and bring about the reunification of Germany.
But his internal reforms helped weaken the Soviet Union to the point where it fell apart, a moment that President Vladimir Putin has called the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the twentieth century.
After decades of Cold War tension and confrontation, Gorbachev brought the Soviet Union closer to the West than at any point since World War Two.
“He gave freedom to hundreds of millions of people in Russia and around it, and also half of Europe,” said former Russian liberal opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky. “Few leaders in history have had such a decisive influence on their time.”
But Gorbachev saw his legacy wrecked late in life, as the invasion of Ukraine brought Western sanctions crashing down on Moscow, and politicians in both Russia and the West began to speak of a new Cold War.
“Gorbachev died in a symbolic way when his life’s work, freedom, was effectively destroyed by Putin,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
He will be buried in Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife Raisa, who died in 1999, said Tass, citing the foundation that the ex-Soviet leader set up once he left office.
“We are all orphans now. But not everyone realizes it,” said Alexei Venediktov, head of a liberal media radio outlet that closed down after coming under pressure over its coverage of the Ukraine war.
When pro-democracy protests rocked Soviet bloc nations in communist Eastern Europe in 1989, Gorbachev refrained from using force – unlike previous Kremlin leaders who had sent tanks to crush uprisings in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.
But the protests fuelled aspirations for autonomy in the 15 republics of the Soviet Union, which disintegrated over the next two years in chaotic fashion.
Gorbachev – who was briefly deposed in an August 1991 coup by party hardliners – struggled vainly to prevent that collapse.
“The era of Gorbachev is the era of perestroika, the era of hope, the era of our entry into a missile-free world … but there was one miscalculation: we did not know our country well,” said Vladimir Shevchenko, who headed Gorbachev’s protocol office when he was Soviet leader.
On becoming general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party in 1985, aged just 54, he had set out to revitalise the system by introducing limited political and economic freedoms, but his reforms spun out of control.
“He was a good man – he was a decent man. I think his tragedy is in a sense that he was too decent for the country he was leading,” said Gorbachev biographer William Taubman, a professor emeritus at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
-FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters
News
Why we withdrew appeal against Kogi court order on Yahaya Bello – EFCC
Why we withdrew appeal against Kogi court order on Yahaya Bello – EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a notice to withdraw an appeal against an order of a Kogi High Court restraining it from arresting the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
The EFCC said the withdrawal notice dated April 22 was based on the fact that events had overtaken the appeal.
The commission also admitted that the appeal was filed within the time allowed by law.
“The appellant herein intends to and do hereby wholly withdraw her appeal against the respondent in the above-mentioned appeal,” the notice partly read.
“This notice of withdrawal is predicated on the fact that on the 17th of April 2024, the application filed by the appellant herein was overtaken by the decision of the same high court of Kogi State.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion. The matter is before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
News
EFCC hands over recovered transmission equipment, buildings to Enugu govt
EFCC hands over recovered transmission equipment, buildings to Enugu govt
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Wednesday, released 14 properties initially forfeited to the Federal Government to Enugu State Government, following the request by the Governor Peter Mbah administration.
The properties were handed over to the Governor Mbah, by the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, during a brief ceremony at the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
This was even as Governor Mbah assured that the recovered assets would be used to the optimum benefit of the people of Enugu State.
Speaking at the event, Olukoyede, who disclosed that the road to the forfeiture dated back to 2007, said the event spoke of the mutually beneficial relationship existing between the federal government and states.
Commending Dr. Mbah “for the great work he is doing in Enugu State”, the EFCC Chairman said the President was very much interested in the state-of-the-art hospital that the Mbah administration proposed to build in Enugu State, saying the structures for medical facilities among the released assets would go a long way in helping to realise the Mbah vision for the benefit of not just Enugu State, but the entire country and beyond.
“What we are witnessing today testifies to a symbiotic relationship that should exist between the federal government and the state governments. The essence of our meeting here today is for us to handover properties that were forfeited to the federal government, which of course belong to Enugu State people, back to the people. It shows that governance can work in Nigeria.
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“If you look at the history of this particular matter, it takes us back to 2007 when we started the prosecution. So, we are looking at about 17 years since the matter has been on. Eventually some of the properties were forfeited and since then, the EFCC has been managing those properties even though the titles of quite a number of the properties have been revoked by the Enugu State government,” Olukoyede said.
Earlier in his remarks, Governor Mbah, who noted that the properties were forfeited not to his state but to the federal government, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for making it possible for the assets to be returned to the government and people of Enugu State.
“The importance and significance of this event can never be lost on us and we do not also take it for granted. Those assets were forfeited to the federal government. And this brings me to another gratitude that I want to convey here today. So, I want to acknowledge and recognise the important role played by the President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Without the proactiveness and speed at which he acted on our request to cede these assets back to the people and government of Enugu State, we wouldn’t have been here today. Therefore, I want to thank him most sincerely for granting our request for these assets that were forfeited to the federal government to be ceded back to Enugu State.
“I want to assure us that those properties would be used for the benefit of the people of Enugu state. All the assets without any exemption, and they would be deployed to optimum use for the benefit of the people of Enugu state.”
He also lauded Olukoyede’s initiatives at making the EFCC a strong institution and the role of the EFCC in the release of the properties to the state.
“I will not end this remark without acknowledging the work the EFCC chairman and his team are doing in strengthening this very important institution. Thank you very much particularly for the effort that you have put in to make today a reality,” the governor stated.
The properties comprise houses, transmission equipment for radio and television stations, a building for medical operations, among others.
EFCC hands over recovered transmission equipment, buildings to Enugu govt
News
NiMet predicts three days sunshine, thunderstorms across Nigeria
NiMet predicts three days sunshine, thunderstorms across Nigeria
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted sunshine and thunderstorms across the country from Wednesday to Friday.
In its weather outlook released on Tuesday, NiMet predicted sunny atmosphere over the northern region throughout the forecast period.
NiMet envisaged isolated thunderstorms over parts of Kebbi, Taraba, Zamfara, and Kaduna during the afternoon and evening periods.
The agency predicts sunny skies with few cloud patches over the north-central region during the morning hours.
The forecast predicts isolated thunderstorms later in the day over parts of Niger, the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, and Kwara states.
“The southern region should be cloudy with spells of sunshine; more cloud buildup is expected over the coastal parts, with chances of isolated thunderstorms over parts of Lagos, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom states during the morning hours.
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“Isolated thunderstorms are expected over the south-west Inland, including the coastal parts of Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, and Bayelsa states, later in the day.”
The agency also predicted sunny skies on Thursday and Friday with few cloud patches over parts of the north-west, while parts of the north-east are expected to be sunny and dry in the morning hours.
“Progressing into the day, isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of Niger, the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, and Kwara states,” the agency said.
“The southern region should be cloudy with spells of sunshine; more cloud buildup is expected over the coastal parts.
“There are potential isolated thunderstorms over parts of Ogun during the morning hours.”
“In the afternoon and evening periods, isolated thunderstorms are anticipated over parts of Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Delta, Rivers, and Bayelsa states.”
NiMet advised airline operators to get updated weather reports and forecasts from its office for effective planning in their operations.
NiMet predicts three days sunshine, thunderstorms across Nigeria
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