Nigeria’s government acting like children, says Nobel-winning author Wole Soyinka!

The search for more than 200 girls in Nigeria is now “beyond the capacity” of the government and needs international support, Nigerian author Wole Soyinka told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.

“This is a government which is not only in denial mentally, but in denial about certain obvious steps to take,” Soyinka, a Nobel laureate who is often referred to as the conscience of his nation, told Amanpour.

“It’s one of those rather child-like situations that if you shut your eyes, if you don’t exhibit the tactile evidence of the missing humanity here, that somehow the problem will go away.” It is not just “a Nigerian problem,” he said.

“I’m calling for the international community, the United Nations – this is a problem. This is a global problem. And a foothold is being very deeply entrenched in West Africa.”

The search for the girls, who were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group on April 14, has seen little progress.

The issue, Soyinka said, has been addressed “very late and very cursorily.”

Amanpour had scheduled a live interview with Nigerian Information Minister Labaran Maku onTuesday; Maku failed to show up in time for the interview. He later spoke with CNN’s Isha Sesay. A man claiming to be Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a newly released video "I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah.” 

Soyinka referred to Shekau’s video as a “charade” and “gleeful obscenity.” 

The U.S. said on Tuesday that it had offered, and President Goodluck Jonathan had accepted, an offer to discuss American aid in finding the girls. “President Jonathan should have asked for it from the very beginning,” Soyinka said.“ I don’t believe in false pride.

”Why, Amanpour asked, does Soyinka believe Jonathan is in denial? 

“It’s not only he. It’s the advisers around him. It’s a certain section of the nation, some of whom enjoy for various reasons a nation in a state of chaos. 

They profit by it, and in fact some of the, are guilty of provoking the situation.” “The person who has no excuse is the president of the nation.” The problem, he said, has been festering for years. 

“There have been numerous incidents like this,” he told Amanpour; the 2011 Boko Haram bombing of a United Nations compound in Abuja and extremist unrest over a 2002 beauty pageant being just two examples. “The pinpricks you’ve seen all over the world are consolidating into a situation of internal war – insurrection by this group.” One need only look at the history of Algeria or the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan to understand what is happening, he said. “Let’s not beat around the bush. We’re dealing with a monstrosity. We’re dealing with an affliction the likes of which the nation has never encountered.” The response must be rapid, he said. “Abduction, terrorism, suicide bombing – these are very difficult situations to deal with. But they are not unique.”

 “Where it will end, I do not know. But one thing is certain: The president and his government cannot sleep easy after what has happened to Nigeria.”
By Mick Krever, CNN

Monica Lewinsky breaks silence over affair with Bill Clinton: 'It's time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress'!

After a decade of silence over the affair with Former U.S President Bill Clinton.



Monica Lewinsky has finally decided to address the dramatic turn of events.

According to reports, Lewinsky claims that she has decided “it’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress” and to stop “tiptoeing” around her past.

“I am determined to have a different ending to my story,” she writes. “I've decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past. (What this will cost me, I will soon find out.)” she reportedly said.

Lewinski, now 40 stated that the affair with the former U.S # 1 man, which happened when she was a 22-year-old White House intern, occurred between two consenting adults. However, she admitted she “deeply” regretted the relationship.

“Sure, my boss took advantage of me,” she continued, “but I will always remain firm on this point: It was a consensual relationship. Any 'abuse' came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position.

“The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor's minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power." she allegedly said.
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The UN Has A Stern Warning For Boko Haram – “There Is An Absolute Prohibition On Sexual Slavery”!

The United Nations has issued a stern warning to members of the Boko Haram sect following the release of the video in which leader Abu Shekau threatened to sell the girls kidnapped from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state - Nigeria.

"I abducted your girls"- Boko - Haram's Abu Shekau claims responsibility for chibok girls.

According to international newswire Reuters, the UN reminds Boko Haram that selling the girls would be slavery, prohibited by international law.

Speaking at a news briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesman, Rupert Colville said, “We warn the perpetrators that there is an absolute prohibition against slavery and sexual slavery in international law. These can under certain circumstances constitute crimes against humanity.

“That means anyone responsible can be arrested, charged, prosecuted and jailed at any time in the future. So just because they think they are safe now, they won’t necessarily be in two years, five years or 10 years’ time.”

Colville, saying that the girls could be exposed to “continuous physical, psychological, economic and sexual violence” and that forced marriage could have a “devastating” impact on victims, warned that any buyers would be liable too.

“The power differentials between girls and their ‘spouses’ are likely to undermine all autonomy, all freedom of will and expression of the girls. The situation they will be in will be tantamount to slavery, or slavery-like practices within the so-called marriage,” he said.

There was a subtle for the military too, this time from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who wrote President Goodluck Jonathan on April 28, saying that in sparing no efforts to bring back the girls, the military must respect the rights of others.

“Any rescue attempt must be made in line with international human rights standards,” Pillay said, noting previous “allegations of excessive use of force by the Nigerian military in anti-Boko Haram operations".

Federal government not doing enough to end insurgency - ASUU!

The Academic Staff Union of Universities in Nigeria (ASUU) recently blasted the federal government over its slow action on the spate of insecurity in the country.

ASUU in a state of the nation address in Abuja, said the government was not doing enough to end the situation, hence it is losing grip of the situation as the insurgents consistently remain bold.

National President of ASUU, Nasir Fagge, said the more the government claims to have tried to curb the insurgency, the more it grows and expands to other frontiers.

“These approach must include socio-economic development and education, crucially the pursuit of a humanistic socio-economic development with the goal of fulfilling the needs of the people, society’s control of the commanding height of the economy,” he said.

ASUU also suggested that government should approach governance with the concept of egalitarianism, and abandon the philosophy of governance “that treats Nigeria as if it were a jungle.”

The ASUU President said Nigerians ought to realise that the issue of Boko Haram is a complex Nigerian problem and not a Northern problem.

Reacting to the recent protest by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), where police personnel used teargas and water to disperse the protesters in Abuja last week, he said such action would not be tolerated in Nigeria as there is no law proscribing peaceful protests.

The union also described the ongoing National Conference as dubious in intent as it is not capable of making substantial progress in obtaining the goal of doing away with structures of domination.

President Goodluck Jonathan accepts help from the U.S on finding missing girls!

According to a report from the News Agency of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday accepted a definite offer from the United States government to locate and rescue the abducted schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, in Abuja.

The statement said that the offer from President Barack Obama was conveyed to Jonathan by the U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, in a telephone conversation which began at 15.30 hours on Tuesday.

It said the assistance included the deployment of U.S. security personnel and assets in collaboration with their Nigerian counterparts for the search and rescue operation.

“Mr. Kerry assured President Jonathan that the United States is wholly committed to giving Nigeria all required support and assistance to save the abducted girls and bring the reign of terror unleashed on parts of the country by Boko Haram to an end,” the statement said.

It said President Jonathan thanked Kerry for the telephone call and for the assistance.

The statement, however, said that the president had told Kerry that Nigeria’s security agencies, who were already working at full capacity to find and rescue the abducted girls, would appreciate the deployment of American counter-insurgency know-how and expertise in support of their efforts.

It further said that the president also met with the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs and heads of national security agencies in continuation of the national efforts to find and rescue the abducted girls.

The statement also said that the president received updates on the ongoing search and rescue effort, and gave approval for recommended further actions. 

Prominent blogger arrested in Vietnam for posting ‘bad content’!

Reorts has it that a prominent blogger was arrested in Vietnam. it was gathered that he was accused of disseminating anti-state articles in the communist country’s latest crackdown on online dissent, Police said Tuesday.

57 year old Nguyen Huu Vinh, popularly known as Anh Ba Sam, was arrested in Hanoi on Monday for posting articles “with bad content and incorrect information that reduces prestige and trust in state agencies,” the ministry of public security said in a statement.

Police also arrested Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, 33, who was accused of the same offence, the statement added, without giving details of her alleged role. 

Vietnam bans private media and all newspapers and television channels are state-run. Lawyers, bloggers and activists are regularly subject to arbitrary arrest and detention. 

According to Reporters Without Borders, Vietnam has detained at least 34 bloggers. Only China has put more bloggers behind bars.

Vinh, a former Policeman, founded the well known political and social blog ‘Ba Sam’ in 2007 — initially to store articles for his own reference.

The blog then became a news aggregator with links to major stories in state-run newspapers as well as blog posts from activists.

The blog has frequently appeared under different web addresses to avoid constant hacking attacks.

It was not clear if Vinh still ran the blog at the time of his arrest on Monday.

Together with some other blogs, Ba Sam has also been a rallying point for Vietnamese demonstrators staging anti-China protests, mostly in Hanoi, in a longstanding dispute over sovereignty of the potentially oil-rich Paracel and Spratly island groups.

In April, authorities freed three well known dissidents including French trained Cu Huy Ha Vu and Nguyen Tien Trung, who were serving long jail terms for similar anti-state charges.

kim rocks in denim look!

A new twit from Kim revealed that she sure had fun during her recent trip to Paris with her friend Super star Serena Williams.



Her twit below:
"I was only in Paris for a quick 24 hours, but made sure to squeeze in time with my friend Serena Williams who is training there. We went to all of our favorite spots and it was great catching up! Also, I’m loving this denim on denim look. I used pale pink shoes to offset the blue. I’m wearing a Balmain denim shirt, mother jeans and Guiseppe heels. A short but sweet trip".