Nigeria marks 500 days since Boko Haram schoolgirl abduction

A file screengrab taken on May 12 2014, from a video of Boko Haram obtained by AFP, shows girls wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location. (Pic: AFP)

Today relatives of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram are marking 500 days since the abductions, with hope dwindling for their rescue despite a renewed push to end the insurgency.

The landmark comes amid a worsening security crisis in the northeast, where Islamists have stepped up deadly attacks since the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, killing more than 1 000 people in three months.

Boko Haram fighters stormed the Government Secondary School in the remote town of Chibok in Borno state on the evening of April 14 last year, seizing 276 girls who were preparing for end-of-year exams.

Fifty-seven escaped but nothing has been heard of the 219 others since May last year, when about 100 of them appeared in a Boko Haram video, dressed in Muslim attire and reciting the Koran.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has since said they have all converted to Islam and been “married off”.

The Bring Back Our Girls social media and protest campaign has announced a youth march in the capital Abuja to mark the grim anniversary along with an evening candle-lit vigil.

Spokeswoman Aisha Yesufu said she was hopeful that the “right thing will be done?” under the new regime of Buhari, who replaced Goodluck Jonathan on May 29, vowing to crush Boko Haram.

“We have a new government. Yes, we have seen the kind of things he has done, his body language, what he has said about our girls. He has made them an issue,” she said.

Brutality

“He has given his word that he will do all he can to ensure the girls are rescued, not only to their parents, but for them to go back to school and continue with their lives.

“So we are hopeful that the right things (will) be done but at the same time we Nigerians should understand that the rescue of the Chibok girls is not a privilege … it’s their right as enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.”

The mass abduction brought the brutality of the Islamist insurgency unprecedented worldwide attention and prompted a viral social media campaign demanding their release backed by personalities from US First Lady Michelle Obama to the actress Angelina Jolie.

Nigeria’s government was criticised for its initial response to the crisis and Western powers, including the US, have offered logistical and military support to Nigeria’s rescue effort, but there have been few signs of progress so far.

The military has said it knows where the girls are but has ruled out a rescue effort because of the dangers to the girls’ lives.

Boko Haram, blamed for killing more than 15 000 people and forcing some 1.5 million to flee their homes in a six-year insurgency, has rampaged across Borno since Buhari’s inauguration.

Global sex trade

The fresh wave of violence has dealt a setback to a four-country offensive launched in February that had chalked up a number of victories against the jihadists.

An 8 700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to go into action soon.

In a report published in April, Amnesty quoted a senior military officer as saying the girls were being held at different Boko Haram camps, including in Cameroon and possibly Chad.

The Chibok abduction was one of 38 it had documented since the beginning of last year, with women and girls who escaped saying they were subject to forced labour and marriage, as well as rape.

Fulan Nasrullah, a respected Nigerian security analyst and blogger who claims specialist knowledge of the inner workings of Boko Haram, said there was “no hope” of ever recovering most of the Chibok girls.

“Most have had kids by now and are married to their captors. Many have been sold into the global sex trade and are probably prostituting in Sudan, Dubai, Cairo and other far flung places,” he said.

“Some have been killed probably in attempts to escape, airstrikes on camps where they were being held, et cetera.” – By Ola Awoniyi

9 years ago

Gorillas not guerrillas: Tourism hope in troubled Congo

Mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, August 1, 2015. (AFP)

Tourists perch perilously on a volcano’s edge as swirling smoke belches from the fiery cauldron of lava below, the latest unlikely visitors holidaying in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.

Below, sounding like a roaring sea, spurts of molten rock fly high into the air, as one of the world’s largest lava lakes and most active volcanos puts on its mesmerising show.

Eastern DRC has been mired for decades in rebel battles, but such sights are helping bring tourists back to Virunga National Park, which reopened last year after the battle lines shifted in its favour.

Surrounding misty forests in green hills of the vast park — stretching for 7 800 square kilometres — are home to a quarter of the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas.

The tourists are vital: the income they bring funds the park’s survival.

“The frontlines, they were down there,” one porter says, peering down from the volcano through the jungles towards the lights of the lakeside city of Goma, some 20 kilometres southwards, referring to a rebel force who briefly took control in late 2012.

Nyiragongo, a 3 470 metre peak and a steep and stiff five-hour hike from lush rain forests, is part of a chain of volcanoes in one of the world’s most active regions.

Tourism ‘vital’ to Virunga’s future

“Holiday on Mount Doom,” said Fabian, a teenage Belgian tourist visiting with his mother, referring to the volcano in the fantasy world of British author JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings epic.

“Some things can only be believed by seeing,” he added quietly, peering down from the cliff’s edge in hushed awe at the raging fire below, the night sky turned red from the glowing lava.

The tourist industry in the region — needed to keep the Unesco world heritage site running and its animal inhabitants safe — collapsed in 2012.

Militia forces remain active, and Virunga’s chief warden Emmanuel de Merode was himself wounded by gunmen by 2014.

But the well-trained and armed guides say it is now safe, and visitors are coming back. For tourists, an hour with a gorilla family costs $400, while a night on the volcano costs $250.

Tourism revenue is “vital” to the future of Virunga, helping to benefit some four million people in and around the vast park, as well as “peace and prosperity” in general, said Merode.

It gives people an alternative income than cutting down the forests for charcoal, and a motivation to protect the park.

“Every tourist that visits Virunga is contributing,” Merode said.

In 2011, more than 3 000 visitors came to Virunga, but violence forced the park shut the next year, and only fully reopening in late 2014.

Tourist numbers have bounced back, with almost 3 000 visiting already so far this year, bringing in much needed revenues to pay rangers.

A total of 16 tourists can hike up the mountain a day — on a recent trip in torrential rain and hail storms up the peak, a dozen tourists took part, with nationalities including Americans, Belgians, British and Israelis.

The last major eruption in 2002 saw fast flowing lava devastate the Goma, covering the city of around a million in a river of molten rock flowing as fast as 100 kilometres an hour.

Oscar-nominated 2014 documentary Virunga — which showed the efforts to protect Africa’s oldest national park from war, poachers and oil companies — has also brought back tourists.

‘I saw how the Earth was born’

“We saw the film, and said, we have to see that,” said Jacques, a Belgian businessman working in Congo, after trekking into the steamy jungles to see the gorillas, the symbol of the park.

Rangers communicate with the gorillas, exchanging heavy grunts to reassure the groups, including the massive male “silverback” weighing an estimated 160 kilos.

“With each person coming to visit Virunga, there is a little bit more hope that things will get better,” said Mélanie Gouby, a French investigative journalist, whose work to expose oil company expansion into the park is a key part of the film.

“It’s wonderful that so many tourists have come back in such a short time after the end of the conflict — to hear that the documentary is part of the reason why they are coming to Virunga is both incredibly exciting and humbling,” Gouby added.

As night falls and temperatures drop below freezing, the warmth from the molten lava warms the hands of the tourists, dangling their legs over the sheer drop into the crater, watching plate tectonics in action.

“I saw how the Earth was born,” one entry from an American couple read in the park’s visitor’s book. “How often can you climb a mountain and come back with an understanding of how we are all here?” – By Peter Martell

9 years ago

Don’t just cry as your currency plunges. Here are 6 off-the-wall investments for Africans to hide their money

Art in Fashion exhibition in Germancy, featuring Vlisco fabric in the photo and draped on the picture. (Photo: Flickr/Marcdubach).

African central banks are currently burning through their foreign reserves at a rate faster than any other in the region in a bid to shore up their currencies, but going by recent events in Asia, they are likely to soon throw in the towel and relinquish control of their exchange rates altogether.

Thursday’s move by Kazakhstan, central Asia’s largest crude exporter, to abandon its currency peg has intensified speculation that authorities in Africa will devalue or halt intervening in their foreign-exchange markets.

Commodity-dependent nations such as Zambia and Ghana are struggling to cope with currency declines of more than 20% against the dollar since January, as global commodity prices tank. Bloomberg’s Commodity Index tumbled to its lowest this week since 2002; South Africa’s rand touched 13 to the dollar this week for the first time in 14 years.

Gold is traditionally the investment of refuge when currencies are volatile, but this year, even gold has not been spared the commodity plunge. Still, beyond the doom and gloom, there are still some opportunities to shield your savings from being decimated.

There are some potentially “depreciation-resistant” investments that a smart African investor can put his/ her money in:

Sari

(Photo/Sandra Cohen-Rose/Flickr).

The sari is the most recognisable traditional Indian dress for women. It’s six yards of rectangular cloth, often brightly coloured and elaborately embroidered. The sari is an important part of Indian culture, worn by grown women who have come into their own, writes Shikha Dalmia in Forbes.

Africa has a large Indian diaspora, particularly in the east and south of the continent. Increasing “westernisation” is often feared to signal the demise of traditional attire, but this is rarely the case. Instead, traditional garments actually become more elaborate and expensive, because they are now only worn on special occasions. Some saris are even embroidered with real gold thread and rough diamonds, and can retail for up to $10,000.

According to one online retailer, the margins for selling saris online can go up to 200% compared to 60% in general clothing and apparel.

“Traditional” African fabric

(Photo/Marcdubach/Flickr).

What we loosely refer to as “African fabric” goes by different names around the continent, but it is recognisable by its bright colours, bold patterns, and boxy geometrical designs.

The most successful brand in the market is Vlisco; the Dutch company was acquired by British private equity firm Actis in 2010 for $151 million, and has transitioned from a retailer of fabric to a fully-fledged fashion house, releasing 20 to 30 designs every few months to outpace the Chinese imitations that have encroached the market.

As is the case with saris, “westernisation” makes jeans, trousers, shirts and blouses everyday attire, so African fabric such as Vlisco’s increases in status and desirability – more so the “original” wax print – used to make elaborate outfits for church on Sunday, gifts for relatives, or, simply to hoard.

Vlisco has been retailing in Africa for more than 100 years, and has survived all kinds of turbulence in Africa’s political and economic history. In 2011, Africa generated 95% of Vlisco’s $250 million in net sales that year.

Single malt whisky

Whisky for sale in Edinburgh. (Photo/Petyo Ivanov/Flickr).

If you’re willing to wait a few years for your investment to mature, whiskies are known to fetch extremely high prices at auctions across the globe – particularly rare blends from renowned distilleries.

According to the Investment Grade Scotch index that is compiled by UK-based Whisky Highland, the top 100 whiskies appreciated by an average of 440% in the last six years. By contrast, the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index increased by 31% in the same period, and the Live-ex Fine Wine 100 Index dropped by 2%.

And it’s not only “old” whiskys that are valuable. The tip for an investor is to buy a limited edition whisky – particularly those that are a run of less than 10,000 bottles. It means that there are very few bottles of that particular blend around. That’s what makes them valuable.

For example, InsidersEdge.co.uk highlights Tun 1401, which was a limited edition release from a distillery called The Balvenie in Scotland just a few years ago. It retailed for £150 per bottle, and can now be sold for anything up to £2,000 a bottle – a 1,233% profit margin.

The most expensive whisky in the world is known as “The Constantine” from Macallan distillery in Scotland, according to CNN Money. In January, Sotheby’s sold a six-litre decanter of Macallan M for $631,000. In May, a 50-year-old bottle of Japanese Yamazaki single malt sold for $33,000.

These transactions are becoming relatively frequent, if not commonplace. Indeed, Whisky Highland expects 30,000 rare, expensive bottles to be sold at auction this year, a 50% increase on the 20,211 that were sold in 2013.

Cement, lorries, earthmovers…

Construction site in Ethiopia. (Photo/Simon Davis/DFID/Flickr).

Africa is one of the world’s fastest urbanising regions. In 2000, one in three Africans lived in a city; by 2030, one in two will do so. It means that the construction sector and industries that support those activities are bound to be in high demand. Cement is one example.

Old Mutual Investment Group’s African Equities Manager Cavan Osborne says Lafarge, South Africa’s PPC and Nigeria’s Dangote are all cement companies that have a strong footprint on the continent and are investment options worth considering.

“Everyone in the world wants to have a house, and if they already have one they want a nicer or a bigger one. That’s what makes cement such an attractive prospect,” said Osborne.

Schools and training colleges

School laptops in Nigeria. (Photo/Carlos Gomez Monroy).

Africa is the only continent in the world that is still growing, while the rest are aging. More than half the world’s growth between now and 2050 will be in Africa. Six in every ten Africans are aged under 24 years—the youngest population of any region globally.

If the right policies are drawn up, this sets the continent up for a big “demographic dividend” windfall, as workers outstrip the number of dependents. But for that to happen, these young workers have to acquire the necessary skills, and this means that post-secondary education will be in high demand.

The gold standard of post-secondary education in Africa is usually a university, conferring an academic degree. But training and technical colleges – though marginalised in Africa – are likely to make a comeback as they are a quick win for African economies striving to take advantage of the estimated 85 million jobs in light manufacturing will be up for grabs in the next few years as wages and manufacturing costs rise in China.

Good old land

View of Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city, from Riat Hills on the outskirts of the city. (Photo/Victor Ochieng).

If you don’t have enough money for diamond-encrusted saris and 50-year-old whisky, don’t despair. In Africa, you can’t go bad with good old land, particularly if you head out to smaller cities and towns where your initial investment is likely to be lower than in the main capital city.

9 years ago

South African black doll breaks the mould in high style

Maite Makgoba, the founder of Childish Trading and Manufacturing (AFP)

She is black and trendy, and young South African girls are learning to love her.

Meet Momppy Mpoppy, who is a step ahead of other black dolls across Africa who are often dressed in traditional ethnic clothes.

Decked out in the latest fashions and sporting an impressive Afro, complete with a tiara, Momppy could play her own small part in changing the way that black children look at themselves.

Maite Makgoba, founder of Childish Trading and Manufacturing, said she started her small business after realising that black dolls available on the market “did not appeal to children”.

“They were frumpy and unattractive, some in traditional attire. That is not the reality of today,” said the 26-year-old entrepreneur.

The dolls are assembled in China, but the real work starts in Makgoba’s tiny workspace in downtown Johannesburg, where they are styled and packaged before they are sent to independent distributors.

Inside the two-room warehouse, miniature pieces of clothing are sewn and pressed by hand. Appearance is everything.

Eye-catching ballerina skirts, denim pants and “on trend” jumpsuits with bright high heels are some of the items in Momppy Mpoppy’s impressive wardrobe.

Among the different Mpoppy outfits are “Denim Dungaree Delicious”, “Rockstar Tutu”, “Mohawk Fro” and “Seshweshwe Fabolous” — with each doll costing R180 rand.

To complete the experience, the company also makes matching clothes for girls who own the doll.

“This is more than just a business, we are creating awareness, that our dark skin and thick Afro hair are pretty as they are,” said Makgoba.

“We want kids to see beauty in Mpoppy, to see themselves while playing with her.

“Dolls are often white, people in magazines are white, even in a country like South Africa where the majority are black.

“Black children are confronted with growing up in a world that does not represent them, everything is skewed towards whiteness.”

Body image
Makgoba admits that the fledging company which she started in 2013 faces a stiff competition from established toy brands, but she was encouraged by the “overwhelming response” from buyers.

“Parents and children have quickly taken to the doll. But we still need to convince large retailers to sell our brand,” she said, declining to reveal exact sales numbers.

Nokuthula Maseko, a 30-year-old mother of two, said her children had “fallen in love with the unusual doll” after she came across it on social media — the company’s biggest marketing tool.

“I like the fact that the doll looks like my kids, in a world where the standards of beauty are often liked to Caucasian features,” said Maseko.

“The kids love the doll.”

“This is a big social movement … it can help prevent body image insecurity among children,” she added.

But the Johannesburg mother said she was not in a hurry to throw away her kid’s white dolls.

“At school they play with their white friends, so this is my idea of maintaining that realism, so that they are aware of different races and not that everything is just white and only looks a certain way,” she said.

Black dolls are not new, but the African market has for a long time been flooded with white dolls, creating an image of porcelain skin perfection with long shiny tresses.

The iconic 57-year-old Barbie range has dominated global sales, selling over one million a week globally — including a selection of black dolls.

It’s a tough challenge to build a brand name for start-up companies like Makgoba’s and others such as Queen of Africa, a popular black doll from Nigeria who is kitted out in ethnic attire.

According to Johannesburg child psychologist Melita Heyns, toys have a long-term influence on children.

“It’s not just entertainment … dolls are a big part of a girl child’s life, it’s important that such toys help build a child’s character and self-esteem,” said Heyns.

Mpoppy’s creators plan to export to neighbouring African countries, changing young mindsets one doll at a time. – By Sibongile Khumalo

9 years ago

Botswanan or Batswana? It’s complicated

Flag of Botswana

I’ve been pondering about the origin and meaning of the two terms, Botswanan and Batswana. How nationals in African countries self-identify and how they identify their fellow citizens can tell us a lot about the level of inclusiveness and nationalism in a country.

According to Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries, the correct English term for nationals from Botswana is Botswanan. Therefore, it’s the preferred term by editors and writers worldwide. The majority of nationals from Botswana prefer the use of the complicated term Batswana. The addition of “Ba” meaning “the people of”, seemingly implies that everyone in Bostwana is Tswana. This makes it a term loaded with problematic histories of colonialism, exclusion and ethnic relations.

Who then, is Botswanan?

Botswana’s political borders were formed under colonial rule, bringing together diverse ethnic groups who comprised Bechuanaland. It was renamed Botswana in 1966 when the country gained independence from Britain. Today, it continues to be a multi-ethnic society.

Its main ethnic groups include the Tswana, Kalanga, Batswapong, Babirwa, Basarwa, Bayei, Hambukushu, Basubia, Baherero and Bakgalagadi people. In addition, there are other minority groups including whites, Indians and immigrants from other African nations.

Colloquially, all these ethnic groups are referred to as Batswana. However, applying the term Batswana to them is misleading.

Who then, is Tswana?

Nearly four million people who identify as Tswana live in southern Africa – one million in Botswana and three million in South Africa. It is used to describe the North Sotho, West Sotho, Sotho, and Pedi ethnic groups who have a similar culture and speak the same language.

The West Sotho Tswanas live in Botswana. They consist of eight ethnic groups and together make up a sizeable amount of the inhabitants, comprising roughly 70% of the population.

Due to their numbers, Tswana language and culture dominates mainstream Botswanan society. They have a distinct culture that is different from the other ethnic groups living in Botswana in terms of social organisations, ceremonies, language and religious beliefs. Therefore, a unifying Tswana culture that distinguishes them exists. Culturally, they are arguably more similar to the Pedi and Sotho in South Africa then they are to some ethnic groups within Botswana. Therefore, the term Batswana can be seen as a reflection of the presence of a dominant Tswana culture in Botswana and not a reflection of the multi-ethnic society Botswana actually is.

Botswana does not constitute a homogenous nation with a single language or culture. Therefore, the term Batswana should not be an umbrella term for all of the people within Botswana’s borders which include non-Tswana groups who have a different culture and may speak their own language. Additionally, anyone speaking the Setswana language should not be considered Batswana because this dominant language needed to function in contemporary Botswana where 26 languages are spoken. Therefore, an ability to speak a language doesn’t make a person the ethnicity of the people from which that language derived. As an example, the ability of the Khoi-San to speak Setswana does not technically make them West Sotho nor Batswana.

Who then, is Basarwa?

The Basarwa, who are commonly known as the Khoi-San or “Bushmen”, are often lumped in to this broad category of Batswana. They are made up of Khoi and San people who are further divided into distinct groups with their own languages and culture. They have long resisted being labelled terms such as “Bushman” and even “Khoi-San”. Calling them Batswana would just be the latest name to be forced on a group that has struggled to maintain their identity and culture.

Their identification has always been problematic. They are thought to be the “original” people of Botswana. The government does not award them (nor any other ethnic group) “indigenous” status though – they maintain that all citizens of the country are indigenous in order to promote a sense of “sameness”. In part, this is an attempt by the government to incorporate them in the dominant culture by promoting a strong sense of national identity and “developing” them to fit in with Batswana people who are considered “modern”. By labelling them Batswana they are forced to identify as such or risk being labelled as “backward” or otherwise “othered”, which marginalises them. In part, it is also an attempt at controlling their resources, culture and land – for tourism and diamonds – under the pretext of homogeneity or “oneness”.

Given the aforementioned relations between the Baswara and the Tswana-speaking groups, calling them “Batswana” when they feel their culture is threatened by them is problematic.

Similarly, other groups in Botswana may feel similar offense when being called Tswana for much less severe reasons such as simply not being Tswana.

Who then, is Batswana?

Simply speaking, the term Batswana is problematic for those ethnic groups such as the Khoi-San with their own cultural, linguistic and genealogical identities.

Botswanans need to be more conscious when they identify everyone from Botswana as Batswana in order to be more inclusive of the minority groups. Such a loose term which is meant to unify people can have the opposite effect by further marginalising minority ethnicities.

Next time someone problematises my use of the term Botswanan, my simple response will be, “What then, are the Basarwa?”

Sitinga Kachipande is a blogger and PhD student in Sociology at Virginia Tech with an African Studies concentration. Her research interests include tourism, development, global political economy, women’s studies, identity and representation. Follow her on Twitter: @MsTingaK