Category: #zapost

Nigerians living in South Africa have added their voice to the calls for an end to police brutality in Nigeria. This follows reports that troops opened fire on a crowd of protesters yesterday, killing a number of them.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari appealed for calm, making no direct mention of Tuesday’s violence in Lagos.

Eyewitnesses and human rights groups say the troops opened fire during a protest demanding an end to police brutality.

Nigerians living in South Africa say corruption that is happening in their native country also has to be addressed.

Nigerian nationals marched on the Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa in Pretoria:

Curfew

The state had imposed a 24-hour curfew yesterday, saying the demonstrations had turned violent after police property had been burned.

Journalist Samson Omale says some ‘hoodlums’ infiltrated the peaceful protests and were responsible for the violence.

“I have watched with shock how what began as a peaceful #EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society,” said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu when he announced the curfew.

Omale elaborates on his report:

Tip of the iceberg

The African Diaspora Global Networks says developments in Nigeria are concerning.

The organisation has called for the African Union (AU) to intervene.

“It is the events like what is happening in Nigeria, where security forces open fire using live ammunition just to quell dissent, to silence the voice of the electorate when they are not happy with government or state actions, that scorn at the value of African lives. This unheard-of African disease must come to an end now. This is the tip of an iceberg, very soon if the AU does not take its proper position and answer to the call, Africa will be on fire, and there will be no one to blame but the African leaders who are failing the people time and time again, yet the people had put their trust on them.”

Statement from the organisation:

The United Nations has called for security forces to act with restraint and for protesters to demonstrate peacefully.

“The Secretary-General encourages the authorities to swiftly explore avenues to de-escalate the situation. He reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support national efforts towards finding a solution,” says spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric.

Secretary-General @antonioguterres calls for an end to reported police brutality in Nigeria, condemning violent clashes that claimed multiple lives and caused many injuries. https://t.co/Hl1g6aa6NK

— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) October 21, 2020

Economic impact

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a surprise climb in US crude stockpiles added to concerns about a global supply glut. Brent crude futures fell 0.49% to $42.95 a barrel while US crude futures slipped by 0.43% to $41.52 per barrel.

At the same time, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned about the negative impact that the protracted nature of the EndSars protests has on business activities across the country.

SABC News Economics Editor Thandeka Gqubule-Mbeki says the economic consequences of the protests are dire:

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A policeman was killed in Guinea’s capital Conakry on Wednesday during clashes with opposition supporters who burned barricades in the streets after initial results from Sunday’s presidential election showed President Alpha Conde in the lead.

Supporters of Conde’s main rival Cellou Dalein Diallo set alight piles of old furniture and burned tyres in some opposition neighbourhoods of Conakry on Wednesday. Police dispersed protesters with tear gas.

“Clashes broke out on the Prince’s Road. A policeman was killed,” Security Minister Damantang Albert Camara told Reuters, referring to a major throughfare in Conakry that runs through opposition strongholds.

It was at least the sixth death reported in violence since the election.

Diallo has claimed victory in the vote based on his campaign’s tallies.

The push for a third term for Conde, 82, has sparked repeated protests over the past year, resulting in dozens of deaths. He says a constitutional referendum in March reset his two-term limit; his opponents say he is breaking the law by holding onto power.

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In rural Sierra Leone, teenagers tuned into solar-powered radios for their lessons, while Kenyan students texted a code to receive free learning guides on their phones.

As COVID-19 shut Africa’s schools, governments and charities rushed to make learning accessible to millions of pupils without internet or even electricity, sparking innovations that could keep children learning long after the pandemic has passed.

“The situation, pushed all the governments and education ministries to think in a different way,” said Elena Locatelli, an advisor on education in emergencies at the UN children’s agency UNICEF.

In a matter of months, officials set up distance-learning programmes, often via TV and radio, while charities and start-ups distributed devices and materials to supplement them.

Even as children now return to classrooms, many of the initiatives are set to continue for vulnerable children who struggle to attend school due to poverty or conflict.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest rate of out-of-school children, with about a third missing out on classes in 2018, according to the UN cultural agency UNESCO.

“All these solutions can also be used in situations in which children have no access to school due to conflict or insecurity, or for children that find themselves on the move, “Locatelli told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The rise of distance learning could “completely transform “how countries think about education, said Sarah Smith from the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which has been developing audio lessons for refugee children.

“It could open up opportunities for formal education systems to welcome in things like a radio programme or a new app into their curriculum in a way they have been reluctant to do in the past,” said Smith, senior education director at the IRC.

‘Path of no return’

Education needs are particularly dire in Burkina Faso, where violence has forced 1 million people, more than one in every 20 inhabitants, to flee their homes. Islamist groups wage frequent attacks across the country’s northern scrublands.

Before the coronavirus hit in March, 2 512 schools were closed because of the security situation, said Education Minister Stanislas Ouaro.

Although the government had talked about setting up distance learning, it took the pandemic to make it happen, he said. “Coronavirus was also an opportunity for us,” Ouaro said.

“We realised we could develop radio and digital classes that could be a response to the pandemic and to other types of crises, such as the security crisis and natural disasters.”

Burkina Faso started broadcasting lessons on radio, television and online after closing all schools in March. Schools reopened for the new year on October 1, but radio classes are continuing for children in conflict-hit areas.

“For us, it’s a path of no return,” Ouaro said.

While distance learning cannot replace school, it will now be the go-to solution any time education is disrupted, he said.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has backed national remote-learning programmes by distributing solar-powered radios, pens and notebooks in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, urging the countries to keep broadcasting lessons after COVID-19.

“We would like for next year to continue this activity and to organise some kind of listening groups. It can be in schools where schools can reopen, or it can be in the community where schools cannot reopen,” said Charlotte Berquin, an education specialist for West and Central Africa at UNHCR.

‘Challenge and opportunity’

Even when children are in school, distance-learning solutions can help address challenges such as overcrowded classrooms, a lack of trained teachers and inadequate materials, said Yesani Kapanda, education programme manager for the charity Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in Malawi.

This is the aim of VSO’s “Unlocking Talent through Technology” project, which provides solar-powered tablets with interactive courses for children to follow at their own pace.

The project started in five schools in 2014 but was scaled up during the pandemic to bring at-home learning to some 200 000 students in total. VSO ultimately hopes to integrate the use of tablets into all primary schools in Malawi.

“There is low absenteeism and dropout rates in the schools and the project has reduced the gender dynamics between girls and boys in the acquisition of numeracy and literacy skills,” Kapanda said.

In Kenya, the charity Metis took another approach by distributing home learning guides in person and via text message and WhatsApp.

They estimate they were able to reach more than 30 000students during the coronavirus lockdown with learning materials.

Students send the letters ‘EDU’ to a certain number and this triggers a series of questions to determine what content to send the learner, with lessons on school subjects including mathematics as well as gardening, storytelling and theatre.

Text-based learning is seen as a possible growth area too.

Eneza Education, an education technology social enterprise operating in Kenya, Ghana and Ivory Coast, opened its SMS platform without charge during lockdown, leading to its use by 2.2 million learners who did not have steady internet access.

The company has now launched in Rwanda with plans to assist more vulnerable students.

Metis co-founder Rebecca Ume Crook said she envisions the model being used long after the pandemic to provide children and caregivers who need support with learning ideas and creative materials.

“We have the challenge and the opportunity to reimagine education as a result of this pandemic, but we have to do so equitably,” she said.

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Soldiers opened fire on Nigerians protesting against police brutality in the Lekki district of the commercial capital Lagos on Tuesday, striking at least two people, four witnesses told Reuters.

Thousands of Nigerians have demonstrated nationwide every day for nearly two weeks against a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), that rights groups had for years accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murders. The unit was disbanded on October 11 but the protests have persisted with demonstrators calling for a raft of law enforcement reforms.

“They started firing ammunition toward the crowd. They were firing into the crowd,” said Alfred Ononugbo, 55, a security officer. “I saw the bullet hit one or two persons,” he said.

The condition of those two people was not immediately known. Amnesty International has said at least 15 people had been killed since the protests began.

In a Twitter post, the Nigerian Army said no soldiers were at the scene of the shooting on Tuesday night in Lekki, an upmarket district where the toll gate has been the site of daily protests in Lagos, Africa’s biggest city.

Lagos state government said it would open an investigation into the shooting, which witnesses said began about 7 p.m. (1800 GMT).

“There have been reports of shooting at the Lekki Toll Plaza,” Gboyega Akosile, a spokesperson for the governor, said on Twitter. “The State Government has ordered an investigation into the incident,” he said in another tweet.

A Nigerian army spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Inyene Akpan, 26, a photographer, said more than 20 soldiers arrived at the toll gate in Lekki and opened fire. He said he saw two people being shot.

Akinbosola Ogunsanya, a third witness, said he saw around 10 people being shot. Ogunsanya, who said lights went out shortly before the soldiers arrived, also said he saw soldiers remove bodies.

Another witness, Chika Dibia, said soldiers hemmed in people as they shot at them.

Video verified by Reuters showed men walking slowly in formation toward demonstrators, followed by trucks with flashing lights, and the sound of gunfire popping. Another video showed the toll gate itself, with a protester waving a Nigerian flag, as people ran amid the sounds of gunfire.

A Reuters witness heard sirens and gunfire.

A doctor at the private Reddington Hospital in the Victoria Island area of Lagos said 13 people were being treated, including some for gunshot wounds. The doctor asked not to be identified.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday held scheduled talks with the defence minister and the chief of defence staff around 6:15 p.m. (1715 GMT) to discuss national security, two presidency officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A spokesperson for the president did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Nigerian army was due to begin a two-month national exercise on Tuesday. When the move was announced on Saturday, it denied the move was part of a security response to the demonstrations. Days earlier the military said it was prepared to help maintain law and order.

The weeks-long protests were sparked by a video that began circulating in early October purportedly showing SARS officers shooting a man in southern Delta state. Police denied the shooting.

Authorities on Tuesday imposed a round-the-clock curfew on Lagos as the state governor said protests had turned violent.

It is one of three of Nigeria’s 36 states to have announced such measures in the last two days. The national police chief also ordered the immediate deployment of anti-riot forces nationwide following increased attacks on police facilities, a police spokesperson said.

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