Africa And the Opportunities Of BRICS

 By Charles Onunaiju

Nearly a decade and half, the BRICS platform has become a consequential and formidable multilateral international mechanism, shaping the emerging trend of inclusive global governance. Since after its first summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in 2009, the mechanism has phenomenally grown in consolidating its internal consultative frame work and has extended its outreach activities through the “BRICS plus” effects.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are heavy weights in their own respective rights but seized the opportunity and moment of their outstanding performances as significant emerging economies to evolve, shape and consolidate on international mechanism not only to enhance cooperation among themselves but sought to invest the trend of globalisation with the practice of multilateralism and opening new vista for inclusive and participatory global governance.

Chasing Rats In Niger Republic

By Ochereome Nnanna

When the immediate former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, came to power in January 2017, he took stock of the situation the country was in. Over the decades, warlike America had become war-torn though the fighting was always on foreign land. It spends an average of $1 trillion on defence and wars annually. Its troops were mired all over the Middle East and Asia, especially in such countries as Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

Trump, who campaigned on a mantra of Making America Great Again, MAGA, decided to de-escalate belligerence. The troops must come home. America must make peace with its traditional foes – Russia, China, North Korea and others. America must suspend its “big brother” role to the European Union and let them shift for themselves, at least for the time being. America must rebuild the coal-fired energy sector and revamp abandoned towns. America must rebuild its broken philosophical and cultural foundations and become America once again.

African Peacemakers: Rescuing Europeans From Mutual

 By Owei Lakemfa

Seven African leaders stunned the world on June 16 and 17, 2023 when they went on a peace mission to warring Ukraine and Russia. The reaction from many in the West was that of contempt; how is it the place of lowly Africa to intervene in a war of Europeans? In fact, Poland tried to scuttle the mission by detaining for 30 hours the aircraft carrying the protection unit of President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the delegation.

*Ramaphosa and Putin 

Its claim was that the security men carried “dangerous goods”(weapons). Did they expect them to carry candies? The protocol all over the world is for the paper work for the weapons to be submitted; but Poland declined. Eventually, the aircraft which also had a dozen journalists on board, could not join Ramaphosa as Hungary barred it from using its airspace. These are clear indications that some Europeans countries do not want peace.

Henry Kissinger On Ukraine: How The Crisis Ends

 By Henry Kissinger  

(PUBLIC discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are going?)  

In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public support, all of which we did not know how to end and from three of which we withdrew unilaterally. The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins. 

*Dr Kissinger and Donald Trump

Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other – it should function as a bridge between them. 

Russia must accept that to try to force Ukraine into a satellite status, and thereby move Russia’s borders again, would doom Moscow to repeat its history of self-fulfilling cycles of reciprocal pressures with Europe and the United States.

Soccer, Politics And The African Condition

By Dan Amor

As of Friday last week when this piece was written, Senegal was the first African team to score a goal at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia. They recorded a 2-1 win over Poland in Tuesday's World Cup clash in Moscow, to join Japan at the top of Group H. It was a huge relief for Africa, the black continent, which was decimated and devastated with the 2-0 defeat of Nigeria by Croatia baring the 3-1 loss of Egypt to Russia on Tuesday. Indeed, it wasn't a memorable start for Africa whose national governments see soccer as a tool for political influence and personal aggrandizement.

The atmosphere was very inclement throughout Africa, but the mood changed when Nigeria demonstrated their superiority to Iceland with a 2-0 win at regulated time. Nigerians and Africans at large, were now in a celebration mood as at press time on Friday. This is because soccer is the opium of the youths, and most adults alike. It is therefore the most unifying factor in any modern society leading to attempts by successive administrations in Africa to make enormous political capital from it. Consequently, the beautiful leather game plays a monumental role in local and international politics.

The 10 Most Corrupt Countries In The World

(pix: Michigan.gov)

By Sam Becker

Corruption and economic turmoil often go hand-in-hand. In western nations like the United States, and in many European countries, we often see corruption come to light as the result of whistleblowers or journalistic efforts. But in many other areas of the world, however, corruption plays a major role in fostering staggering poverty and broken economic systems in a much more blatant way.

Oftentimes, specific power structures and government architectures provide an easier means for corrupt politicians, businessmen, or military officials to exploit the system. Many governments have their roots in constitutions from generations ago, and have outgrown their current systems. Many other countries are ruled by a variety of independent tribal leaders and often lack a centralized power structure with any meaningful sway.

Transparency International developed a comprehensive list of the world’s most corrupt nations last year, and the countries that top the list probably won’t come as much of a surprise to many. The study ranks countries on a scale from 0 to 100, with zero being the most corrupt, and 100 being the least.

Of course, corruption comes in a variety of forms, so getting a precise gauge is difficult. But perception itself is a very strong tool, and can have a big effect on its own. If the study reveals anything, it’s that the world overall has a huge issue in terms of corrupt officials. By looking at the Corruptions Perception Index, along with the existing power structures and economic systems within each country, the picture does become a bit clearer. That’s why we dug a little deeper, examining the rankings for ourselves.

Although not among the top ten, we’ve included the United States on the list to give perspective as to where America ranks internationally in terms of corruption and economic strife. By Transparency International’s calculations and scale, the U.S. is sitting fairly pretty, although it’s common knowledge that there are definitely issues with how things are run in Washington. Other countries you might expect to see like Russia, Mexico, or Venezuela all have their places as well, and the full list of 177 nations can be viewed straight at the source from Transparency International.

Here are the most corrupt nations in the world, as ranked by Transparency International, with additional insight into the issues and factors plaguing each one.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TEN COUNTRIES