Why Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Must lead The World Bank

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There is no better time for Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria to ascend the throne of the President of the World Bank than now when there is a new awakening in world politics and the clamour for gender equality is very loud. Change is the only thing that is constant; and the wind of change must blow in favour of the developing economies this time around.

The two world financial institutions – The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been managed all along by America and Europe, making every other continent to play the second fiddle. The status quo has been that while Europe takes care of the IMF, America manages the World Bank; then others sit and watch.

With the election of Barak Obama as the first Black President of the United States and the election of Christine Lagarde as the first female President of IMF, it would be nice to balance the equation by also giving other continents a chance because the world really needs that change now more than ever.

Speaking on Thisday Live, the Nigeria Minister of Finance highlighted reasons why she is qualified to be the next President of the Apex institution. Apart from working in the institution for over 25 years, she has also held the position of the Vice President. If experience counts, then she is the most qualified of the three candidates contesting for the post.

America’s candidate, Jim Yong Kim, does not really qualify to manage the World Bank, considering the fact that his professional experience as a medical doctor is not enough to steer a financial institution of such magnitude. Though the odds favour Kim as America, Europe and Japan have over 50% of the voting power. The fact Kim is a Korean-American may make Asia to sympathetically vote for him.

Jose Anthonio Ocampo of Columbia does not pose any threat because apart from being a South American, he does not also possess the necessary credentials to give Iweala sleepless nights. South America therefore needs to do the right thing by ensuring that they ask all their supporters to vote en masse for Okonjo-Iweala and hope to be reciprocated when the time comes for them to vie for other important positions in the future.

Iweala already enjoys overwhelming support here in Africa with the Presidents of South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cote d’ivoire, and the AU and ECOWAS endorsing her for the job. The Economist and the Financial Times newspapers of London have already endorsed her ahead of Jim Yong Kim and Jose Anthonio Ocampo because of the credentials she parades. She has the requisite experience to take the financial institution to the next level.

It does not mean that the developed nations have monopoly of knowledge and experience. If the world does not want to endorse mediocrity, then it has to give support to the right and best candidate, putting politics aside.

If all important positions go to the developed countries then the emerging economies and the under-developed economies would live in fears and do business with the developed economies under mutual suspicion. If a French woman in the person of Christine Lagarde is qualified to lead the IMF, then an African woman with much more professional and practical experiences should be allowed to lead the World Bank.

The Islamic Revolution – How to Ensure Peace

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The Islamic Revolution - How to Ensure Peace on Technorati.

The revolution that started in Tunisia and has been spreading to other Islamic states is threatening the peace of Islam as well as that of neighbouring states. Something urgent and constructive has to be done to bring about immediate peace in North Africa and the Middle East.

What started as a Tunisian uprising has now spread like wildfire to Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, etc. The fact that all countries involved are Islamic countries shows that there is a problem with the kind of leadership provided by these Islamic Heads of State.

Recently Saudi Arabia sent hundreds of armoured vehicles and personnel to help suppress the protesters in Bahrain, a move which has since attracted international condemnation. As the center of Islamic worship it was expected that they should think of a way of solving the problem rather than oppressing the people with the power of the guns.

However, there are several ways to handle the current revolution and prevent future occurrences. Some of the options that could be exploited include:

 Dialogue: This remains the best option to stop the current crises. The people must sit together and discuss the causes of the problem and how to solve them. The use of force should be avoided.

 Avoid taking sides: Saudi Arabia must as a matter of urgency withdraw their soldiers from Bahrain and seek peaceful resolution of the crises.

 Change of leadership styles: All the countries involved must change their leadership style to carry the people along in the scheme of things and make them have a sense of belonging.

 Constitutional reformation: The constitutions of the countries involved must be amended to make leaders accountable to the electorate. Besides, the tenure of each elected or appointed leader must be spelt out and respected.

 Avoid deceit: The leaders must also avoid the temptation to deceive the led. The people have the right to know how their incomes are generated, saved or spent.

 Regional responsibility: There should be regional co-operation between the various presidents of the states that make up the regions. The leaders should ensure no elected president or head of State stays beyond his/her tenure. They should also have a mechanism for forcing out a leader who deliberately decides to plunge the regions into crisis.

 Religious influence:. Since these states are purely controlled by the application of Islamic laws, the Arab league must be able to influence the leaders to live according to the expectation of Allah and work within the confines of the Qur’an.

 World Influence: The United Nations must not exist in principle alone; it must be able to step into major crises to avert blood shed and genocide. Sanctions imposed on erring nations must be able to achieve the purpose for imposing them.

Implementing these options would help bring some relative peace to the Arab/Islamic nations and also ensure regional calm.

Julian Assange - What Lessons Does His Arrest Teach?

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Wikileaks founder, Julian Paul Assange was finally nabbed by the metropolitan police in London today after being declared wanted by the Interpol several days ago for alleged sex offence committed in Sweden.

He has been wanted by the police in connection with the said sex offence as well as for reasons of publishing highly sensitive documents best regarded as security risk. His website has been publishing documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has also published documentaries on extra-judicial killings in Kenya amongst other issues.

If tried by the law court and found guilty what happens next? Is he going to be jailed, pardoned or what actually happens? Maybe the opinion of the world would be sought or the law of Sweden would be applied.

The 39 year old Assange is an Australian national, journalist, internet activist, publisher, Mathematician and computer programmer. He is Amnesty International Media Award winner 2009 and Sam Adams award winner 2010. Now the question is if Julian Assange holds all these credentials why would he stoop low to commit a sex offence?

Was the offence real or cooked up? Who is actually guilty or would eventually be guilty, America, Sweden or Julian? He is a man shrouded in controversy at the moment; and God would tell us the truth.

If it is true that he was involved in sex crime, the law should be allowed to take its course. Women’s rights must be protected to reduce their vulnerability. Julian Assange is alleged to have had sex with his partner with a punctured condom which he failed to disclose to her.

What if she has been infected with a deadly STD (that is if he has one anyway)? What if it turns out to be the incurable HIV, how much would be used to compensate her? Men owe themselves the duty to be faithful/honest to women at least for their reputation.

The world is watching as the drama unfolds. Those who preach against injustice, human rights violation and oppression should never indulge in it otherwise their preaching would become hypocritical.

Assange has not been tried; but since his case has become so controversial, it would be wise to try him under public glare so that no other controversy would arise from it. The world should be convinced he is guilty of the said offence otherwise the world powers would be portrayed in bad light.

What do you think about Assange's case? Air your opinion.

Iran Launches Nuclear Reactor Plant In Bushehr

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Iran finally started to load uranium fuel to the site of its nuclear reactor plant sited in Bushehr on Saturday, 21st August, 2010. The plant is said to be a peaceful project expected to help the country generate 1,000MW of electricity in the next one year, and 20,000MW by 2025. The country also claims it is a major boost in their quest for industrialization.

The Bushehr Nuclear plant was started by the Germans years ago, but following outright condemnation from several countries, including the United States, it was abandoned. It was then taken over by Russia in 1995; and it’s being completed this year after some setbacks including the German withdrawal and the Iraqi-Iranian war prevented the initial completion time of 1999 from being realistic.

Iran has declared that the programme is a peaceful one, and that the plant would be loaded with Uranium fuel. It is also expected to start generating its first electricity in the next one or two months. The fuel for the plant’s operation is being lifted to the area under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

However, as the country struggles to convince the international community that its Nuclear facility is for a civilian purpose, it went ahead to successfully test-fire new surface-to-surface missiles; making one to question how peaceful this programme really is.

The United States has always condemned Iran’s desire to develop a nuclear plant. Nevertheless, there have been some concerns that the same US is negotiating with Vietnam to enable the latter build a nuclear facility. The American Secretary of states, Hilary Clinton was said to have gone to Vietnam recently for that purpose.

Now the question is who is really deceiving who? How could the US be condemning one country for trying to build a nuclear site and at the same time they are aiding another one to do same? Why would the G8 and the EU think of applying sanctions against Iran, but Russia which helped to complete the project is a member of the G6 and the EU? Is there really a concern for the safety of the world’s populace or there is a concern for how much money could be made from these controversial programmes?

How do we prevent more frictions?
It is clear that the G6 does not speak with one voice; if America condemns a programme or policy, the same programme would be supported either by Russia or by France, and vice versa. To prevent these security threats from coming up from time to time, the following should be done:
1. Speaking with one voice: The constitution or whatever rules that govern the G8, EU, The UN Security Council, etc should be reviewed so as to make all members speak with one voice on every matter brought before them. It is paramount that when a case is presented before the G8, if it is not conclusively or unanimously resolved, no member should go behind to support such programme. For instance, if Russia hopes to carry out a project for a country, it should be free to negotiate with the country; thereafter, it should present it before the Group of 8 and make sure every member accepts it before going ahead to execute it. It should also be made clear that once a member of the Group of 8 has negotiated with that country, and the project fails to be approved, no other member of the body should be allowed to renegotiate with the country or execute the same project. In the event that the problem is later resolved, the country which initially negotiated the project should be the one to execute it. This would help to prevent in-house betrayals.
2. Sanction: Should any member of the G8 go ahead to execute a project that was not resolved amicably, the others should impose sanctions against her. This would also reduce the impunity with which members are executing projects against the decision of the body.
3. Strict Monitoring: Countries with uranium and other resources which are capable of causing security threats should be strictly monitored to ensure that these products are not sold to the wrong people. The moment it is established that there is any form of negotiation to acquire these resources without the approval of the Security arm of the UN or the Group of 8, such countries should be cautioned immediately or sanctions should be applied when necessary. They should not wait until after the programmes are ready for use before contemplating sanctions.
4. Co-operation: All countries should co-operate with the UN Security Council, The G8, EU, AU, etc to make any sanction imposed on a country to be effective. When there are countries doing business with a sanctioned country, the purpose of the sanction would not be achieved.

Iran Launches Four New Submarines

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Iranian navy has taken delivery of four new home-built submarines which are said to be in the home-produced Ghadir class. The vessels are to be positioned in the Persian Gulf, to help give some territorial protection to the country.

Iran already has some vessels patrolling its territorial waters – notably three Russian-built Kilo class diesel submarines which it acquired in the1990s, an Iranian built light submarine weighing about 500 tonnes (launched in 2006) and a Nahang.

The navy first launched seven sub of this category in 2007, and started building “Qaem” in 2008, which according to the country’s army chief, Ataollah Salehi, would be capable of operating in the high sea. The new vessel is said to be capable of firing torpedo and missiles.

The vessel has been described as stealth submarine and hardly detectable by sonar; it would be used for coastal operations especially in the shallow waters within the Gulf of Aden.

The country is already offering to give assistance to Lebanon and Syria. With tensions already high in the Middle East, offering to give assistance to Lebanon and Syria that are known to be aggressive toward Israel would make one ask if Iran does not have Israel in mind before going ahead to increase her naval presence in the Gulf.

Caution should be applied in handling the Iranian issue as it may worsen the already volatile situation in the Middle East. The country has of recent been talking tough on her desire to build a nuclear station; though the world has tried to dissuade her from going ahead with the plan, she is yet to soft pedal.

So launching four submarines at this critical time means the country is up to something. The world should therefore be careful the way it handles the case, especially now that America is thinking of carrying out some military exercise with South Korea. North Korea is already frowning at the plan: they have never hidden their hostility towards America.

It would be recalled that North Korea started in a similar manner by fortifying their military, building and refurbishing missiles which they hoped would reach America from Pyongyang. They went ahead eventually to declare they had finally developed nuclear weapon. Today, everyone living around North Korea – Japan, South Korea, China, etc now lives in palpable fears.

I still believe that sanctions would not achieve the desired result; the only way to take care of some of these aggressions is go to the dialogue table. The people should be made to see reasons why they should respect the United Nations’ Non-Nuclear proliferation treaty.

Besides, smaller countries should be reassured of their safety and security. America should reduce their Bossy attitude because it is making smaller countries to feel vulnerable; hence they are doing everything possible to create defense for themselves in case of external aggresion. When America learns to meddle less in other countries’ affairs, they would feel more relaxed and stop thinking of defending themselves at all cost.

The Arab league should prevail on Iran to shelve its plan to build a nuclear plant. They should realize that Israel would not be the only country to suffer the long term effect; other fellow Arab nations may be at the receiving end when the time comes. After all, Iraq and Iran fought for several years irrespective of the fact they’re both Islamic nations. Iraq also invaded Kuwait, a fellow Islamic country prior to the full-blown Gulf war. So there is no guarantee that Israel would be the only target of the nuclear attack in future; if Israel fails to provoke them, another fellow Islamic country may provoke them into using it.

The Need For Nuclear Disarmament

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The world has witnessed different levels of wars between countries and regions and the use of arms and munitions of different sorts from time immemorial. The climax of all this came when the atomic bomb was used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War.

The threat posed by certain countries during the First and Second World Wars has led several countries into looking for more deadly ways to protect themselves against invasion by their neighbours or by known powerful nations. This quest for protection against both real and imaginary enemies has led to the birth of deadly weapons of war – Atomic bomb, nuclear bomb, E-bomb, Hydrogen bomb, minor explosives, intercontinental ballistic missives, scud missiles, B52 bomber jets, Hawk, Missile launchers, nuclear submarine, Frigates, warships, biological weapons, nerve gas, etc.

The interesting part of the whole scenario is that all the above-mentioned weapons are fashioned to destroy the human organism and not animals. Why on earth should nations dedicate so much time, resources, money and energy researching things that would be used to outdo one another? America alone possesses over 5,000 nuclear warheads. Russia, Britain, France, Australia, China all in one way or the other have their own stockpiles. Recently other countries like Pakistan, India, North Korea, etc have all joined the nuclear nations list. Iran, Syria and others yet to be determined are already threatening to do same.

What are the dangers?
Nuclear proliferation poses much problems and threat than the world may anticipate. Some of the reasons why continual research into nuclear production is dangerous include:
1. Hunger and starvation: The world is wallowing in economic recession that has made many people die of hunger and starvation (though these problems have always been around). Arms productions have indirectly contributed to worsen the situation. Since 2003 America has spent over $200b fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; North Korea keeps testing weapons upon weapons while their citizens (North Koreans) wallow in abject poverty and are crossing their national borders into South Korea and China in their thousand to look for greener pasture. The money spent on weapons worldwide is enough to put food on the tables of the world’s poor masses who die of hunger daily. Hunger and starvation may get worse unless we channel these resources into agriculture and food production.
2. Increase in Illiteracy: The annual budgets of nations reflect how widespread this fear of insecurity has gone. Countries are allocating as much as 30-50% of their annual budgets to maintain their armed forces whereas a miserly less than 10% are given to education. This money used for research into weapons of mass destruction should be channeled into developing human resources and awarding scholarships to the less privileged to enable them acquire education.
3. Massive human destruction: the use of the Atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the death of close to 300,000 people with several others maimed for life; and years later, congenital abnormalities attributable to the effects of the bomb still continued to occur. These weapons kill in their thousands and I am sure that whenever they are used thousands of human lives would be wasted – lives that God holds in sanctity. How about the conscience of the person who launches the weapons? Do you think such person would ever be happy with himself whenever he remembers the lives he sent to their early graves in the course of fighting?
4. Accidental explosion: I am sure the world still remembers the effect of the accidental explosion that happened years ago in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) where hundreds of innocent lives were wasted. Only recently there was also another weapons explosion in Russia. What is the guarantee that stockpiling the bombs would not one day lead to similar horrifying and devastating experience? The bomb explosion in a military barracks in Lagos, Nigeria is still fresh in our minds: we know how many people lost their lives as a result of that incidence. We remember the case of accidental loading of six nuclear warheads into a jet and were flown across some states in the United States recently. If there had been an accident what would be the result?
5. Terrorism: In this era of terrorism where people are threatening to annihilate countries and religions what happens should these blood thirsty persons lay their hands on nuclear weapons? Your guess is as good as mine.
6. More conflicts: Whosoever has something that others don’t have would always look for an opportunity to exhibit his superiority. The reason the world went after Iraq was because of the fear they might be possessing biological weapons. Now that North Korea has developed nuclear technology, we see them showing their arrogance from time to time, even thinking of shooting missile from their country to reach the United States of America.

The world should think of what to do to completely stop further proliferation of these deadly weapons which some countries are using to foil conflicts in other regions and making billions of dollars from them. The recent nuclear summit in the USA may have discussed the way forward and may have also applauded their efforts, but I think a lot more need be done to make the world live in relative peace and harmony and stop living in mutual suspicion.