Connect with us

World

Nigeria Celebrates Buhari’s Stunning Win; Challenges Loom

Published

on

NIGERIA ELECTION
MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerians celebrated Muhammadu Buhari’s electrifying victory in presidential elections Wednesday but sobering challenges confront their next leader, from an Islamic uprising to widespread poverty and graft.

Buhari, 72, made history in Africa’s most populous country as the first opposition party candidate to win elections, ending President Goodluck Jonathan’s bid for another term. For a former major general who three decades ago led Nigeria following a coup, it was an amazing transformation to a democratically elected president.

Fresh from his victory, Buhari warned the country’s Boko Haram Islamic insurgents that he’d be coming after them.

“No doubt this nation has suffered greatly in the recent past and its staying power has been challenged to its limits, chief among them the insurgency of Boko Haram,” he said Wednesday at Abuja’s international conference center where he received a certificate attesting to his victory. “Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our will and commitment to rid this nation of terror … we shall spare no effort until we defeat terrorism.”

Boko Haram aims to establish a caliphate and to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state, has killed thousands of civilians and carried out frequent kidnappings but has been hit hard in recent weeks by troops from Nigeria and allied forces from neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

The bespectacled president-elect also warned that corruption would not be tolerated after he takes office on May 29. As Nigeria’s leader three decades ago, he returned looted state assets. Government workers arriving late to work were even forced to perform squats. His regime executed drug dealers.

“Corruption attacks and seeks to destroy our national institutions and character … distorts the economy and creates a class of unjustly enriched people,” Buhari said Wednesday, wearing splendid white robes with gold embroidery. “Such an illegal yet powerful force soon comes to undermine democracy because it has amassed so much money that they believe they can buy government.”

Buhari ruled Nigeria for less than 20 months before being deposed in another coup in 1985, with another major general saying Buhari had been slow to overcome the nation’s economic problems.

It may be deja vu for Buhari when he takes over the presidency because the economy, Africa’s biggest, is suffering again because of low oil prices. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil exporter and the government is heavily dependent on oil sales for its revenues. The 2015 budget had to be slashed because of slumping oil prices. The value of the local naira currency is also dropping.

Jonathan’s party has governed since military dictatorships ended in 1999. Buhari has been trying to be president since then and this was his fourth run at the presidency.

New scanners to confirm voters’ biometric identity cards are credited with reducing voting fraud, which had been a factor in previous elections. However some of the machines did not work at about 300 of the 150,000 polling stations.

Jonathan conceded with grace late Tuesday, saying “I promised the country free and fair elections. I have kept my word.”

In a continent where there have been cases in which a sitting president refused to accept defeat at the polls and violence resulted — Ivory Coast in 2011 is an example — the turn of events in Nigeria was good news that was welcomed by many Nigerians and foreign leaders alike.

In the northern city of Kaduna, thousands celebrated in the streets, shouting “No Boko Haram! No Boko Haram!” The demonstrators danced and held up posters of Buhari and waved brooms, his symbol to sweep out corruption. Motorbikes and cars did stunts and dozens climbed onto a police car as police looked on.

In front of Buhari’s home in Abuja, supporters gathered amid flags and debris from last night’s victory celebrations. Dignitaries came to meet Buhari, including the U.S. ambassador and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

U.S. President Barack Obama earlier hailed the Nigeria’s election outcome.

“President Jonathan has placed his country’s interests first by conceding the election and congratulating President-elect Buhari on his victory,” said Obama in a statement. “I look forward to working with President Jonathan throughout the remainder of his term, and I thank him for his many years of service and his statesmanlike conduct at this critical juncture.”

Jonathan’s concession has defused tensions and fears of post-election violence. Some 1,000 people died and 65,000 were made homeless in riots in the Muslim north after Buhari lost to Jonathan in 2011. Results from Saturday’s election show Buhari winning votes across religious, tribal and geopolitical lines.

Because of decades of military rule this was only the eighth election in Nigeria’s history and the fifth since democracy was restored in 1999.

___

AP writer Jerome Delay contributed to this report from Kaduna, Nigeria.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activism

Retired Bay Area Journalist Finds Success in Paris with Black History Tours

In the late 90s, Stevenson finally realized her dream of living in Paris, now with her daughter. She started exploring the history of Africans in the city and would go on to teach others the same. Her business, which she named Black Paris Tours (BPT), received a significant boost when a family friend gave her a stack of cash and encouraged her to expand on the knowledge that she had only started to share with people she knew.

Published

on

Ricki Stevenson, Blacks in Paris. Courtesy photo.
Ricki Stevenson, Blacks in Paris. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

There were two things Oakland-born, East Palo Alto-raised Ricki Stevenson always dreamed of:

  1. Going to New York as a newscaster to tell the true story of Blacks in America.
  2. Living and working in Paris one day.

Her dreams of life in Paris began when she was three years old and her mother, a former professional dancer, took her to see Josephine Baker perform. She was 11 when her parents took her to the Stanford University campus to meet James Baldwin, who was speaking about his book, “The Fire Next Time.” Ricki says that’s when she knew she’d one day live in Paris, “the city of light!”

But before that would ever happen, she had a tumultuous career as a newscaster across the country that was inspired by her family’s history.

Stevenson recalls marching with Cesar Chavez as he fought for labor rights for farm workers in California.

“Are we Mexican too?” she asked her parents. “No, but we will fight for everyone’s human rights,” they responded to her.

Ironically, Ricki’s paternal family roots went back to Greenwood, Oklahoma, infamous for the 1921 bombing of Black Wall Street. A time when Black people had oil wells, banks, and a thriving business community.

This background would propel her into a 25-year journalism career that gave her the opportunity to interview greats like President Jimmy Carter, PLO leader Yassir Arafat, James Baldwin, Rev. Jesse Jackson, UN Ambassador Andrew Young, Miriam Makeba, and the leaders of South African liberation movements.

A job offer from KCBS radio brought her back to the Bay Area in the 1980s. Then came the switch to TV when she was hired as a Silicon Valley business reporter with KSTS TV, working at the first Black-owned television station in northern CA (created and owned by John Douglas). Along the way, Stevenson worked as an entertainment reporter with BET; coproduced, with her disc jockey brother Isaac, a Bay Area show called “Magic Number Video;” lived in Saudi Arabia; worked as an international travel reporter with News Travel Network; and worked at KRON TV a news anchor and talk show host.

In 1997, Stevenson realized her dream of living in Paris with her young daughter, Dedie. She started exploring the history of Africans in the city and would go on to teach others the same. Her business, which she named Black Paris Tours (BPT), received a significant boost when a family friend, Admiral Robert Toney put a chunk of money in her hand. He said, “Ricki, my wife and I have been coming to Paris for 20 years, but in just two days with you and Dedie, we’ve learned and seen more than we ever did before.”

Years after BPT took off, Ricki met Nawo Carol Crawford and Miguel Overton Guerra, who she recruited as senior scholar guides for Black Paris Tours.

Guerra says he is proud of his work with Black Paris Tours in that it provides a wealth of information about the rich legacy of African and African American history and influence in Paris and Europe.

“I tend to have a feeling for history always being a means of a reference point backwards … you start to understand the history, that it isn’t just the United States, that it began with African people,” Guerra says.

He said that it’s been a pleasure to watch people learn something they didn’t know before and to take them through the city to key points in Black history, like hangout spots for writers like Baldwin and Richard Wright, restaurants in the busiest parts of Paris, the home of Josephine Baker and so much more.

Although the tours are open to all, Guerra hopes that those of African descent from all over the world can embrace that they don’t have to just stay where they are because movies and media have portrayed cities like Paris to be only white, it’s multicultural and accepting to all.

“We’ve been here, and we’ve been there, going way back when. And we shouldn’t be considered or consider ourselves to be strangers in any place that we go to,” he said.

Stevenson notes they’ve had 150,000 people take their tour over the years, with notables like former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Smokey Robinson, Steve Harvey, Miriam Makeba, and more.

Friends and former media colleagues of Stevenson compliment the BPT crew on their knowledge of the city and their ability to always keep it interesting.

“He [Guerra] just had a deep, deep wealth of knowledge and he was constantly supplanting information with historical facts and the like. I love that it was demonstrating and showing how Black people have thrived in Paris or contributed to the culture in Paris,” Candice Francis said.

She toured in the summer of 2022 and stated that in the two weeks that they visited Paris, BPT was the highlight of her trip. She shared that she was proud of Stevenson and the life she’d managed to manifest and build for herself.

“Even if you’re visiting Paris for the tenth time, if you haven’t taken the tour, then by all means, take it,” Francis emphasized.

Magaly Muñoz, Gay Plair and Paul Cobb also contributed to this story. You can book your own adventure with Black Paris Tours at www.blackparistour.com.

Continue Reading

Activism

COMMENTARY: Will a Dictator’s Loss Change Trump’s Tune?

What’s happened in Syria has the potential of reshaping the politics of the entire Middle East. The U.S. can’t afford to sit back and do nothing. Now is the time to exert peaceful, diplomatic influence on how Syria maintains stability and goes forward with a new democracy.

Published

on

iStock
iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

In our polarized country, half of America can’t wait, while many of us still wonder, “where’s Kamala?”

I hope President-elect Trump — who famously said during the campaign that he’d be a dictator on day one — eats his words.

Dictators aren’t doing so well these days.

Last weekend, the dictator Bashar al-Assad was run out of Syria and sought exile with his puppet master/dictator Vladimir Putin of Russia. In just about two weeks, a coalition of rebels applied enough pressure to end a family regime in Syria that lasted 50 years.

al-Assad’s wealthy family dictatorship plundered Syria and ruled in terror.

It sounds all too familiar to Filipino Americans, many of whom came to the U.S. fleeing the Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

al-Assad’s end was different from the Filipinos who forged a peaceful People Power movement that chased the Marcos family to Hawaii where they sought refuge from their U.S. puppet handlers.

But as in Manila, there was cheering on the streets of Syria.  Men, women, and children. Christian, Muslims, different sects and ethnicities, all united against al-Assad.

al-Assad has been described as a genocidal narco-trafficking tyrant, whose friends were America’s biggest enemies, Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia, said Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, on CNN.

Moustafa said it was amazing that there would be no more Russian airstrikes, no more al-Assad gulags torturing civilians. “To see good triumph over evil is an amazing thing,” he added.

But last weekend has some trickle down.

Consider that we are talking about al-Assad, the one Tulsi Gabbard consorted with and hyped to her colleagues when she was in Congress. Now Assad has been shamed into exile with his puppet master Russia, and Gabbard wants to be the U.S. director of national security? Given her wrongheaded judgment on al-Assad, can she be trusted with any national secrets?

It’s still not over in Syria, as now there will be a scramble to see what kind of governing democracy emerges.

Predictably, Donald Trump has said, “The United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved.”

Nouveau isolationism?

What’s happened in Syria has the potential of reshaping the politics of the entire Middle East. The U.S. can’t afford to sit back and do nothing. Now is the time to exert peaceful, diplomatic influence on how Syria maintains stability and goes forward with a new democracy.

Overall, the ouster of the dictator should give Trump pause.

If by nominating MAGA loyalists like Gabbard, Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel, Trump’s testing the evolution to strongman rule in the U.S., he should consider what happened before last weekend.

In South Korea, a weak president tried to declare martial law and was voted down by Parliament. That’s a faux strongman.

Let’s hope Trump learns a lesson from the week’s news.

The next president sets the tone for a politics that’s already toxic.

He needs to remember the joy in Syria this week when an autocrat was dumped in the name of freedom and democracy.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is an award-winning Bay Area journalist. His commentaries are on YouTube.com/@emilamok1. Or join him at www.patreon.com/emilamok

Continue Reading

Black History

Biden acknowledged America’s ‘Original Sin of Slavery,’ Pledged Infrastructure Dollars and Long-Term Financial Aid

“Our people lie at the heart of a deep and profound connection that forever binds Africa and the United States together.  We remember the stolen men and women and children who were brought to our shores in chains and subjected to unimaginable cruelty,” Biden said in remarks at the National Museum of Slavery, which is built near the chapel where enslaved individuals were forcibly baptized before being sent to America. The museum was built on the property of Álvaro de Carvalho Matoso, one of the largest slave traders on the African coast. 

Published

on

President Biden met today with President João Lourenço to highlight the transformation of the U.S.-Angolan relationship and reaffirm our joint commitment to continue working together to address global challenges.
President Biden met with President João Lourenço to highlight the transformation of the U.S.-Angolan relationship and reaffirm our joint commitment to continue working together to address global challenges.

Will Biden’s aid for an above-the-ground Railroad help ease the pain for the African Americans’ Underground Railroad?

By Post Staff
And news dispatches from the Guardian, CNN and AP

When President Joe Biden went to Angola this week the purpose was ostensibly to advance the Lobito Corridor, an unfinished 800-mile railway project meant to facilitate the transfer of critical minerals from interior countries to western ports for exports.

But in a visit to the country’s slave museum, he acknowledged America’s dark past and its connection to Angola in the presence of three descendants of the first captives who arrived in Virginia from Angola in 1619.

The child of two of those captives — Antony and Isabella — was William Tucker, born around 1623. Three of his descendants were present when Biden spoke at the country’s slave museum and humbly acknowledged how the horrific history of slavery has connected the United States and Angola.

“While history can be hidden, it cannot and should not be erased. It should be faced. It’s our duty to face our history,” he said. “The good, the bad and the ugly. The whole truth. That’s what great nations do,” he said.

“It was the beginning of slavery in the United States. Cruel. Brutal. Dehumanizing. Our nation’s original sin. Original sin. One that’s haunted America and cast a long shadow ever since,” Biden spoke as he honored the Tucker family.

After introducing Wanda Tucker, Vincent Tucker and Carlita Tucker, he delivered a hopeful vision for the future in a major speech from the country that was the point of departure for millions of enslaved Africans.

(Wanda Tucker now serves as the faculty chair of psychology, philosophy and religious studies at Rio Salado College in Arizona.)

“Our people lie at the heart of a deep and profound connection that forever binds Africa and the United States together.  We remember the stolen men and women and children who were brought to our shores in chains and subjected to unimaginable cruelty,” Biden said in remarks at the National Museum of Slavery, which is built near the chapel where enslaved individuals were forcibly baptized before being sent to America.

The museum was built on the property of Álvaro de Carvalho Matoso, one of the largest slave traders on the African coast.

Biden told the attendees that he’s proud to be the first president to visit Angola and that he’s “deeply optimistic” about the future relationship between the nation and the US.

“The story of Angola and the United States holds a lesson for the world. Two nations with a shared history, an evil of human bondage,” Biden said. “Two nations on the opposite sides of the Cold War, the defining struggle of the late part of the 20th century. And now, two nations standing shoulder to shoulder working together every day. It’s a reminder that no nation need be permanently the adversary of another.”

Biden’s trip aimed to highlight U.S. investments in Angola and the continent in the face of deepening Chinese influence in the region, as Beijing has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into Africa through its Belt and Road Initiative.

Biden took a swipe at China’s moves, without calling out the country by name, and argued the US presents a better alternative.

“The United States understands how we invest in Africa is as important as how much we invest,” Biden said.

“In too many places, 10 years after the so-called investment was made, workers are still coming home on a dirt road and without electricity, a village without a school, a city without a hospital, a country under crushing debt. We seek a better way, transparent, high standard, open access to investment that protects workers and the rule of law and the environment. It can be done and will be done,” the president said.

Biden’s speech comes during what likely could be his last trip abroad as president and as he seeks to deepen relationships with Angola and other African nations at a time when China has made significant inroads in the continent with hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure investments, far outpacing the U.S.

During his remarks, Biden touted U.S. efforts to expand its relationships across Africa, including billions of dollars in investments in Angola.

He also announced over $1 billion in new US humanitarian assistance for Africans who have been displaced by historic droughts across the continent.

“But we know African leaders and citizens are seeking more than just aid. You seek investment.

So, the United States is expanding its relationships all across Africa,” Biden said, adding later: “Moving from patrons to partners.”

Ahead of his remarks, the president also met with Angolan leaders, including young people at the museum.

Biden started his day with a bilateral meeting with Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço at the presidential palace in Luanda.

The two men discussed trade and infrastructure, including the US and Europe’s investment in the railroad. They also discussed mutual security interests as Angola has played a key mediating role in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In November, Angola announced their Incremental Production Decree of fiscal terms designed to enhance the commercial viability of developing oil and gas fields. The decree enhances the commercial viability of developing fields in mature blocks, underexplored areas and stranded resources, while encouraging exploration near existing infrastructure. The US Railroad infrastructure investments could play a major role in enabling increased recovery from producing fields and extending the lifespan of critical infrastructure, the decree is set to generate billions in offshore investments, create jobs and drive economic growth, solidifying Angola’s position as a leading oil and gas producer.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), center, is shown with other guest speakers at the Sacramento Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction brunch held at the State Capitol on March 6, 2025. On the left is Jennifer Todd, LMS General Contractors Founder and President. To Todd’s right is Dr. Giovanna Brasfield, from Los Angeles-based Brasfield and Associates. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.
Activism2 hours ago

Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas Honors California Women in Construction with State Proclamation, Policy Ideas

Shutterstock
Activism2 hours ago

Report Offers Policies, Ideas to Improve the Workplace Experiences of Black Women in California

UC Berkeley photo.
Bay Area2 hours ago

Five Years After COVID-19 Began, a Struggling Child Care Workforce Faces New Threats

iStock.
Alameda County3 hours ago

Trump Order Slashes Federal Agencies Supporting Minority Business and Neighborhood Development

Robert Harris (left) is a retired attorney at PG&E and former legal counsel for NAACP. Richard Fuentes is co-owner of FLUID510 and chair of the Political Action Committee, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 57. Courtesy photos.
Activism3 hours ago

We Fought on Opposite Sides of the Sheng Thao Recall. Here’s Why We’re Uniting Behind Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor

From left: Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Thompson. Bishop Kevin Barnes. Pastor Mike McBride. Bishop Keith Clark. Pastor Michael Wallace. Courtesy photos.
Activism4 hours ago

Faith Leaders Back Barbara Lee for Mayor, Criticize Candidate Loren Taylor for Dishonest Campaigning

Diana Becton has served at the Contra Costa County District Attorney since 2017. Richmond Standard photo.
Activism4 hours ago

Group Takes First Steps to Recall District Attorney Diana Becton

Barbara Lee. and Loren Taylor. File photos.
Alameda County5 hours ago

Candidates Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor Raise Nearly $550,000 Combined for April 15 Mayor’s Race

Front row: Megan Imperial, Genice Jacobs, Bobbi Lopez, Courtney Welch, Janani Ramachandran, Hercules Councilmember Dilli Bhattarai, Sarah Bell, Laura Babitt, Ashlee Jemmott, and Shawn Danino. Rear row: Ben Gould, Sam Davis, Victor Flores, Zac Bowling, Nate Hanson, Teddy Gray King, Cathy Adams, Neil Tsutsui, Sam Gould, Lauren Wilson, and Nick Pilch. Courtesy photo.
Activism5 hours ago

District Delegates to State Democratic Party Central Committee Meeting Celebrate Election Victory

Activism2 days ago

Oakland Post: Week of March 19 – 25, 2025

#NNPA BlackPress3 days ago

Recently Approved Budget Plan Favors Wealthy, Slashes Aid to Low-Income Americans

#NNPA BlackPress3 days ago

A Threat to Pre-emptive Pardons

#NNPA BlackPress3 days ago

Reaction to The Education EO

#NNPA BlackPress3 days ago

Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant’s Black Church Target Boycott Mobilizes 150,000

#NNPA BlackPress4 days ago

PRESS ROOM: The Urban One Podcast Network Announces Los Angeles Wildfires Podcast, ‘Altadena: After the Fire’

#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago

Target Takes a Hit: $12.4 Billion Wiped Out as Boycotts Grow

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).
Activism1 month ago

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.
Activism1 month ago

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

Oakland City Hall. File photo.
Alameda County1 month ago

After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7

iStock.
Activism1 month ago

Lawsuit Accuses UC Schools of Giving Preference to Black and Hispanic Students

Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo.
Alameda County1 month ago

Lee Releases Strong Statement on Integrity and Ethics in Government

Activism1 month ago

Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025

Day laborer zone sites are scattered across several streets in East Oakland, California. The sites allow workers to find temporary jobs in skilled labor such as construction, landscaping, and agriculture. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.
Activism3 weeks ago

Undocumented Workers Are Struggling to Feed Themselves. Slashed Budgets and New Immigration Policies Bring Fresh Challenges

Activism1 month ago

Oakland Post: Week of February 12 – 18, 2025

iStock.
Activism1 month ago

NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign

Rep. Barbara Lee. File photo.
Activism1 month ago

Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee Reflects on Her Career as She Bids Farewell to Congress

#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago

BREAKING Groundbreaking Singer Angie Stone Dies in Car Accident at 63

Ricki Stevenson, Blacks in Paris. Courtesy photo.
Activism1 month ago

Retired Bay Area Journalist Finds Success in Paris with Black History Tours

Paul Robeson. Public domain.
Arts and Culture1 month ago

Paul Robeson: A Voice for the Ages, A Champion for Justice

iStock.
Activism1 month ago

Two New California Bills Are Aiming to Lower Your Prescription Drug Costs

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.