Today's Headlines: US Watching Gabon After Military Coup–White House, Tinubu mourns Akinkunmi
US Watching Gabon After Military Coup – White House
Photo Credit: Channeltv
The United States is closely watching the situation in Gabon following a military coup, the latest in a series of undemocratic power seizures in Africa, the White House said Wednesday.
“It’s deeply concerning. We were going to watch this closely, and we’re going to continue to do everything we can to support the idea of democratic ideals that are expressed by the African people,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
“It’s too soon to call this a trend,” Kirby said of the several coups in the past year.
However, he said, “It’s obviously deeply concerning here, yet another country where military officers have taken these dangerous and reckless steps, and attempted takeovers of democratically elected governments.”
Tinubu mourns Akinkunmi, designer of the national flag
Photo Credit: The Nation Nigeria
President Bola Tinubu has mourned the death of the man who designed Nigeria’s national flag, Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, whose death was announced on Wednesday, August 30.
In a statement issued by his special adviser on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the president noted that the flag designed by the late Pa Akinkunmi has survived as a legacy reflecting Nigeria’s best qualities, including fruitfulness and resilience.
Photo Credit: Google
The statement read: “President Bola Tinubu conveys his deepest sympathy to the family of Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, OFR, who designed the national flag in 1958 and left a generational legacy, following his passing into glory at the age of 87.
N’West, N’Central await Badaru, Matawelle as bandits heighten killings
Photo Credit: Punch paper
The two new defence ministers, Muhammed Badaru, and Bello Matawelle are assuming office when banditry in the country, particularly the North-West and the North-Central has yet to abate. SOLOMON ODENIYI writes on the herculean task before the two former governors
As contained in President Bola Tinubu’s manifesto, the security of lives and property is one of the main priorities of his administration.
To re-jig the nation’s security architecture, Tinubu, on June 19, appointed new service chiefs to replace the ones he inherited from his predecessor.
But since they assumed office, the spirited efforts of these service chiefs have not been able to bring an end to the wanton killings and abductions they inherited from their predecessors.
Unfortunately, under them, there have been a couple of attacks, which include the killing of a cleric and five farmers and the abduction of over 40 people in Kaduna on July 30. Recently, bandits ambushed Nigerian Army personnel and killed three officers and 22 soldiers in that encounter in Niger State.
All these incidents have made the task before the new Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru, and the Minister of Defence for State, Bello Matawelle enormous.
This is followed by insinuations in some quarters that the duo had no security background and that the position should have been reserved for retired military personnel because of the ongoing war against insecurity in many parts of the country.
Neglecting open trade will cause price instability –Okonjo-Iweala
Photo Credit: Punch paper
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that turning away from open trade would lead to greater price volatility and inflationary pressures and weaker growth prospects.
She stated this at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, U.S. recently.
The WTO director-general noted predictable trade was a source of disinflationary pressure, reduced volatility, and increased economic resilience, whereas fragmentation of trade into rival blocs “would be very costly.”
Okonjo-Iweala said, “A world that turns its back on open and predictable trade will be one marked by diminished competitive pressures and greater price volatility.
Ngongwrite (
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