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Britain’s Prince Philip Dies at 99

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Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband and the longest-serving consort of any British monarch, has died at age 99.

A statement posted on the royal family’s website Friday morning said: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”

Philip spent 65 years supporting the queen, retiring from his public role in 2017 and staying largely out of the view since. In his active years, he helped set a new course for the monarchy under a young queen, championing Britain itself, as well as environmental causes, science and technology.

Philip’s relationship with the young Princess Elizabeth began as a story of young love.

“We behave as though we had belonged to each other for years,” Elizabeth wrote in a letter to her parents shortly after they married.

Over the years, the queen acknowledged Philip’s deep influence on her, calling him her “strength and stay” in a speech on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.

“I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know,” she said at the time.

The intensely private prince will likely be remembered for his early efforts to help modernize the royal family’s image during a time of great change for Britain and the world, especially at the outset of Elizabeth’s reign in 1952. He also developed a reputation for the occasional brusque comment and crass, if not racist jokes.

“The queen inherited from her father a model of monarchy that was very hands off, old-fashioned and slightly invisible,” said Sarah Gristwood, a historian and the author of “Elizabeth: The Queen and the Crown.”

“It wasn’t equipped to deal with a new media age, and Prince Philip played a huge role in moving it forward then.”

Philip helped bring the royals to life on television rather than through radio reports. He was the first member of the royal family to do a televised interview and he presented a show on a royal tour of the Commonwealth. He is also said to have had a hand in televising the queen’s coronation in 1953 and in organizing a groundbreaking 1969 television documentary about the family.

Courtesy: Nbcnews

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Africa

President Hage Gottfried Geingob: A Nigerian’s Tribute to the Remarkable Pan-African Leader

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By Dolapo Aina

When great men and women pass away, you pretty much remember with clarity where you were when you heard the news. Same goes for monumental historical events. You would recollect and not forget where you were or what you were up to. Sunday, the 4th of February 2024 was one of those days for Namibians, friends of Namibia and Namibians, Africa and the entire world.
I commence this long piece with a question. Where were you when you heard about the death of President Hage G. Geingob of Namibia on February 4th, 2024?
I was getting ready and preparing to attend church service in Kigali, Rwanda.

Considering that I had been following President Geingob’s health status since the last week of January 2024 when the Presidency revealed the President’s condition and his subsequent trip to the United States of America; like everyone else, I was of the opinion that President Geingob would get better. Alas, the sudden news on that fateful Sunday. Like everyone else, I was so certain the President would pull through that I sent in a letter requesting for an interview (later on in 2024 to talk about his life after office et al) to the Office of the Presidency ahead of President Geingob’s recovery. Alas, the sudden news of President Geingob’s demise.

On Saturday, the 24th of February 2024, I spent the large part of my Saturday watching people line up the streets from Parliament Gardens to Robert Mugabe Avenue, Sam Nuyoma drive; as the casket carrying the late President of Namibia; Dr Hage G. Geingob made a vehicular procession to the independence stadium in Windhoek.

Namibians loved their President and you could see it from people who came out in their thousands to pay their last respects to their beloved President. He was truly the people’s President.

He regaled me with historical happenings which were not only stories to him because he knew the actors on a personal level. I knew I had met more than my match when it comes to Pan Africanism and stories when he told me of stories of Castro, Che Guevera etc. From the global perspective, America and Africa were the regions to be in the 1960s and he saw it all as he was in the thick of things in that era. I came out of the State House in Windhoek realising I had interacted with an African witness of historical events in Africa and America, Latin and Central Americas. A sincere man. An internationalist. A Pan Africanist. When you met and spoke with the President, the connection is always deep.

That day, I left State House in Windhoek, went back to the venue of the event I was to attend and, in the evening, I did a lot of research on some of the things he told me to research on which was about his Nigerian mentor of 40 years, Professor Adebayo Adedeji. Professor Adedeji was the Under- Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from 1975 to 1991. Speaking of Nigeria and President Geingob’s excellent memory, when I realised his strong connection to Nigeria, I remember during our conversation, I asked him if he knew some prominent diplomats whom I knew personally like Ambassador Olusegun Olusola who was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia in the 1980s. He remembered him. Same response to Professor Bolaji Akinyemi but a faint recollection of General Ike Nwachukwu. Both were Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministers in the 1980s and 1990s.
Liverpool FC defeated Chelseas FC to win the EPL Cup on the same day President Geingob was being buried. The President was a strong supporter of Liverpool as I got to know during my interview with him. Considering African countries like Rwanda have partnerships with some football clubs, I asked during our conversation before the interview why cannot Namibia do likewise since The Land of The Brave had vast array of tourism locations. President Geingob replied that President Paul Kagame was on a State Visit in August 2019 and had been seen the beautiful country. President Geingob’s response to my question of sports cum country branding was that there would be an uproar in Namibia by Namibians. This made me realise the myriad of complexities faced by African Presidents steering their citizens for the collective good of the country.

Sitting down with President Hage G. Geingob and discussing at length, I remember the joke he cracked when he walked in. He stated; “You are a very tall man and taller than me. I don’t grant interviews to people taller than me.” I wasn’t expecting that joke which got everyone in stitches. My response was that I was still getting taller. I remember I had to inform him about his impeccable dress sense complete with pocket square, President Geingob smiled and complimented me too. I remember what struck me when I came out of the State House was that leadership is not a tea party. Presidents of Governments go through a lot which they don’t usually divulge to the public and their citizens. They carry that burden and usually keep sealed lips. My circa two-hour interaction with President Hage Geingob, I came to see the responsibilities of being an African President from a different perspective thereafter. He was a Pan African storyteller and orator with receipts (as Generation Zs would say).

During my interview with President Geingob, my final question to him was; “What is the title of the book you are currently reading?” His response commenced with his trademark infectious laugh and he went on to inform me that he was writing a book on a collection of subject matters.

My hope is that his book would be published and the world would have more than a glimpse into the brilliant mind of President Hage Geingob of Namibia. A President whose untimely demise revealed Namibia’s democracy. A seamless transition of governance. A beacon of democracy.
Watching the ceremonial route procession entourage of military vehicles (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles aka Humvees) drive through the roads of Windhoek, and seeing the camera angle of the national broadcaster NBC which focused on the military vehicle towing the casket draped in the flag of Namibia, as an African who met Namibia’s President Geingob and who was welcomed into his office and felt welcomed, chatted, spoke and interviewed the President; at 1.04pm on that Saturday, I had to raise my hand for a 2 minute salute and thereafter looked for some tissue papers. The side view angle of the NBC camera of the military Humvee and the casket was very poignant and would remain embedded in my memory (not an image I would share).

Those who knew President Hage G. Geingob personally or met him during the time he spent on this earth and to those whom he decided to pour wisdom (Presidential, fatherly, diplomatic or Pan-African) into; they never remain the same. You are awakened with a lifelong responsibility and you know what it is. Like former First Lady Monica Geingos said, President Geingob left a clear road map for his family and nation. Those who met him and spoke with him extensively would know they were also given a road map.

To all those who would visit Namibia in the near future, I would implore you to pay your respects by visiting the Heroes’ Acre which is an official war memorial of the Republic of Namibia. Built into the uninhabited hills ten kilometres south of the city centre of Windhoek. This is the final resting place of Namibia’s President Hage Gottfried Geingob. May his gentle soul rest in peace. Amen.

Dolapo Aina writes from Kigali, Rwanda

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Africa

ECOWAS Makes U-turn, Lifts Sanctions on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger Republic

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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has resolved to lift some sanctions on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger Republic.

The resolution was taken at the extraordinary summit on the peace, political, and security situation in the ECOWAS sub-region in Abuja on Saturday.

While the regional bloc said the political and targeted sanctions on the Niger Republic remain, it lifted some financial and economic sanctions on Guinea and other sanctions on Mali.

Following the military coup in Niger Republic on July 26, 2023, which toppled President Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS imposed several sanctions on the country.

But reading the communique after the emergency summit of the West African bloc on Saturday, ECOWAS Commission President, Omar Alieu Touray, reeled out some of the sanctions the Authority resolved to lift.

They include the closure of land and air borders between all ECOWAS countries and Niger Republic; no flight zone to all commercial flights to and from the Niger Republic, suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger Republic and freezing of all service transactions including utility services.

Other sanctions on Niger lifted are the freezing of assets of Niger Republic in all ECOWAS Central banks; freezing of assets of Niger State and the state enterprises and parastatals in commercial banks; suspension of Niger Republic from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions lifted and travel bans on the military officials and their families involved in the coup attempt.

Touray said that the decision by ECOWAS is based on humanitarian considerations especially “as we are in the month of Lent and as we prepare for the holy month of Ramadan”.

He noted that the authority also resolved to lift the sanctions regarding the recruitment of Malian citizens in statutory and professional positions within ECOWAS as well as lifting financial and economic sanctions on the Republic of Guinea.

The ECOWAS President added that he has been instructed by the Commission to invite Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, and Guinea to attend the technical and consultative meetings of ECOWAS as well as all security-related meetings.

ECOWAS directed all its institutions, member states, and other regional institutions to implement these decisions.

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Africa

Guinean Military Junta Dissolves Government, Seals Country’s Borders

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Guinea’s military junta, which took power through a coup in September 2021, has officially dissolved the government, as announced via a presidential decree read on state TV by the presidency’s Secretary General, Brig Gen Amara Camara.

The announcement was not followed by details regarding the rationale of this dissolution, or the timeline for establishing a new government.

As part of the dissolution, ministers in the now-dissolved government have been instructed to surrender their passports and official vehicles, and also given directives for their bank accounts to be frozen.

The junta has also directed security agencies to “seal” all of Guinea’s borders until the complete handover of government ministries to the junta.

According to Camara, during the interim period until a new government is appointed, lower-level officials will manage state ministries.

The dissolved government, led by Prime Minister Bernard Goumou, was appointed by coup leader Mamady Doumbouya, who led Guinea’s armed forces in overthrowing elected President Alpha Condé in September 2021. The coup came after a series of protests against Condé’s controversial bid for a third term.

Guinea, as well as several other countries in West and central Africa, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Gabon, have experienced coups in recent years. These coups have faced strong condemnation from West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS, the African Union, and the UN.

The junta and ECOWAS had earlier set a 24-month transition period, and Guinea is expected to hold elections to restore democratic rule within 10 months, as the transition period comes to an end.

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