Failed Nigerian bomber

The failed terrorist plot by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit has brought a new and  hard-nosed look at Africa, primarily  Nigeria.  Ration and calm should prevail when looking at the start point of the alledged terrorist.  Nigeria doesn't have the same problem like Somali that easily makes a case to send in predator drones.  The case might be a one off based on research by Reuters.

it is Umar Abdulmutallab’s foreign education rather than his background in Muslim northern Nigeria that is seen as having radicalised him.

The relatively affluent upbringing is not too dissimilar to that of some of the Sept. 11 attackers or Al Qaeda recruits for other attacks, but makes him a particular exception in Nigeria. Most people live on less than $2 a day and many would give almost anything just to have got aboard the plane he tried to blow up. Every year, tens of thousands of Abdulmutallab’s compatriots brave deserts, oceans and unsympathetic immigration police to try to get to the West for just a taste of the chances he had and to take whatever work they can get to better themselves and their families.

Although only around half of Nigeria’s population is Muslim, that still gives it the sixth biggest Muslim population in the world.

But while outbreaks of religious violence in northern Nigeria have killed thousands of people over the past decade – hundreds died in July in clashes between security forces and the radical Boko Haram sect – bloodshed has often also been just as tied to political and ethnic factors.

Islamic jurisprudence in Nigeria is based on the moderate Maliki school of Sunni Islam and Boko Haram’s ideology is dismissed by the country’s Muslim leaders and most believers.

The Al-Qaeda connection.



There more links to Yemen and their Al-Qaeda affiliated groups than to Nigerian ones.

The Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner had his suicide mission personally blessed in Yemen by Anwar al-Awlaki, the same Muslim imam suspected of radicalizing the Fort Hood shooting suspect, a U.S. intelligence source has told The Washington Times.

The intelligence official, who is familiar with the FBI's interrogation of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, said the bombing suspect has boasted of his jihad training during interrogation by the FBI and has said it included final exhortations by Mr. al-Awlaki.

"It was Awlaki who indoctrinated him," the official said. "He was told, 'You are going to be the tip of the spear of the Muslim nation.'"

In his FBI interrogation, according to the U.S. intelligence official, Mr. Abdulmutallab spoke of being in a room in Yemen receiving Muslim blessings and prayers from Mr. al-Awlaki, along with a number of other men "all covered up in white martyrs' garments," and known only by code names and "abu" honorifics.

The official said such clothing and the lack of familiarity among the men suggests al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula intends to use the men in that room in suicide missions.

The intelligence official's description comes in the wake of several reports that Yemen is breeding scores of jihadists ready to strike the West.

Yemen's top diplomat said Tuesday that hundreds of al Qaeda militants are in his country and pleaded for foreign help and intelligence in rooting them out.

They may actually plan attacks like the one we have just had in Detroit. There are maybe hundreds of them -- 200, 300, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told the Times of London.The positive side out of all the attention, is that security matters will  in general be taken more seriously.  More resources and possibly man power will be allocated across the continent.

Yemen with help of Saudi Arabia is involved in proxy war from Iran.



Yemen's War on Terror in detail below.



The same mistake shouldn't happen with Yemen that was allowed to happen  in Afghanistan.

European Union to train Somali troops

The more involvement by the international community, the better.  Lack of interest and concern has run its course, especially these last few years.

The European Union is expected to endorse plans to send troops to help train up to 2,000 Somali troops, according to an EU official.

Under the plan, up to 200 EU troops will train Somali military personnel in Uganda in a bid to broaden engagement in the crisis-hit state.

The move comes on the heels of a request by the Somali government to help build a 6,000-strong police force.

Somalia has been gripped by fierce fighting since 2007 and the country has not had a strong central government since 1991.

More than 1.5 million people have been uprooted by the fighting which has claimed nearly 20,000 lives.

Western countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help the country develop its security forces and help restore order.

The EU is also running an anti-piracy mission in the water of the Gulf of Aden in a bid to clamp down on the number of attacks made by pirates over the last year.

Here is full link.

Back ground info on the EU  Atalanta mission.



Operation Commander of EUNAVFOR Atalanta Rear-Admiral Philip CNN interview.

Microsoft expands foot print in Uganda

A crisis that has become an opportunity.

Software giant Microsoft Corp has hired a Ugandan law firm to help it fight piracy in the country after it discovered that it was losing millions of dollars in sales. Kampala Associated Advocates has been hired by the software company to help it clamp down on illegal internet downloads, counterfeiting and “unauthorised manufacture and distribution of software.

Green computing in Uganda.  Progress begins with small steps.

 

$93 Billion needed for Infrastrucure in Africa

World Bank recently released a report that stated the $93 billion is needed Infrastructure in Africa.

The World Bank said yesterday that the amount needed to fix infrastructure in Africa is twice what was previously estimated. It put the new figure at $93 billion half of which, it noted, should go into boosting power supply.

A joint study just released by the bank from Washington cited examples of infrastructural challenges in the continent. African consumers pay twice as much for basic services as people elsewhere in the world.

A monthly basket of prepaid mobile telephone services costs $12 in Africa but only $2 in South Asia.

Resource-rich countries like Nigeria and Zambia can manage funding gap of four percent of GDP. For much of the rest of the continent, the task ahead is daunting.

The poor state of infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa cuts back national economic growth by two percentage points every year. Bank study team which assessed the state of infrastructure in 24 countries across the continent also discovered that poor electricity, water, roads and information and communications technology (ICT) reduces productivity by as much as 40 percent.

"Modern infrastructure is the backbone of an economy and the lack of it inhibits economic growth," says Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank.

This would be a good opportunity for American companies in construction, management, chemicals and telecommunications to grow their exports.

Construction 'To Become World's Fastest Growing' in Nigeria

Africa's second biggest economy is poised to lead world growth in construction for next decade.

Construction growth in Nigeria will be the fastest of all markets, according to the latest 10-year forecast from Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics.

The new study says China will overtake the US as the world's biggest construction market by 2018, but that the fastest growth will happen in Nigeria.

The survey said infrastructure is the hottest sector to be in and that "it is set to grow in emerging markets by a staggering 128 per cent from now to 2020, compared with just 18 percent over the same period in developed countries".

The report, which named Nigeria "global hotspot from here to 2020" says the nation's construction growth is even faster than India's, reflecting increased wealth and urbanisation resulting from the country's oil production.

"Its population of approximately 154 million is urbanising at one of the fastest rates in the world, but construction is now only 3.2 percent of GDP," it said.

This might be surprising to some especially given the amount the U.S (biggest economy) and China ( 2nd biggest economy) are going to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in infastructure.

Read whole article here.

Entrpreneurship in Africa

Quick read on entrepreneurship in Africa. Good incite and look from years ago. I think this is a solid point to begin the objective that i have set out to do with regards to economic development on the continent.

On that note, the global finacial crisis might have affected Africa, but due to its raw materials, economic growth and progress might be within reach.

Hello world!

This is the first post.  Thanks and welcome to the site.  We will be gradually be updating and posting whats happening around, in the African continent.  We look forward to having  a deep, engaging discussion and exchange of ideas on governance and economic opportunities that the mother continent has to offer.