Human Trafficking Is a Global Problem, but One Program Provides Hope ADF STAFF When seasonal rains fall in Gloria Erobaga’s small village in Nigeria’s Edo State, the crude dirt roads soften and wash away, making access nearly impossible. The same rains form pools on the floors of her school, which sits in disrepair a 90-minute walk away. Homes have no electricity, and families live cramped in the small mud-brick structures. So when someone visits with a promise that a girl can have travel to Europe, get a guaranteed job and a university education, some families are eager to agree. Finally,…
ADF
ADF
ADF is a professional military magazine published quarterly by U.S. Africa Command to provide an international forum for African security professionals. ADF covers topics such as counter terrorism strategies, security and defense operations, transnational crime, and all other issues affecting peace, stability, and good governance on the African continent.
Trafficking Networks Can Destroy a State From Within ADF STAFF In the early 2000s, West Africa became the preferred point of entry for traffickers moving narcotics from South America to Europe. This brought a new type of economic activity into countries along the Gulf of Guinea, and many living there saw it as a chance to make money. Taking bribes from drug traffickers or offering smugglers safe passage were commonly viewed as victimless crimes. After all, the deadly product wasn’t destined for African consumers. These traffickers were just passing through. Some locals who participated in the drug trade gained high…
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Young, determined and from parts of Cape Town known for gangs rather than yacht clubs, seven sailors took part in an epic ocean race to Brazil. The crew of the 43-foot Gryphon boat competed in the Cape2Rio race — a 5,600-kilometer adventure across the South Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro. Twenty-eight yachts started the race, which mixed professional sailors with enthusiastic amateurs on a continent-to-continent passage. The Gryphon team was put together by the Hout Bay Youth Sailing Development Trust, just outside Cape Town, as part of its work with disadvantaged young people. “The sailing training is to…
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE In the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s war-scarred Great Lakes region, carpenter-turned-sculptor Sauveur Mulwana has left a trail of monumental statues over the past decade as part of his self-styled mission to revive local history and boost peace. The 42-year-old moved back home to Butembo, a teeming city of more than a million near the borders of Rwanda and Uganda, when his carpentry business was razed by the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano in the city of Goma. Butembo is home to the ethnic Nande people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, so it follows…
BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Riyad Mahrez was crowned the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2016. Fans from across the world voted for the midfielder, who plays for Algeria’s national team, nicknamed the Fennecs, as well as for Leicester City in the English Premier League. He came in ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Ayew, Sadio Mane and Yaya Toure in the voting. The award caps an exceptional year for the 25-year-old winger, who had already won the Premier League title and was voted the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year. It was further recognition for his outstanding form as…
REUTERS Nigeria and Morocco have signed a joint venture to construct a gas pipeline that will connect the two nations and other African countries to Europe. The agreement was reached during a visit by Morocco’s King Mohammed to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, said Geoffrey Onyema, Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs. Onyema said the project aims to create a competitive regional electricity market with the potential to be connected to European energy markets. No timeline was given for when the pipeline construction will start and how much it will cost. “Nigeria and the kingdom of Morocco also agreed to develop integrated…
VOICE OF AMERICA Nigerian Environment Minister Amina Mohammed has been named deputy secretary-general of the United Nations. The appointment made by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was part of his pledge to reach gender parity among senior leadership within his five-year term. He also appointed Brazilian diplomat Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti as chef de cabinet and Kyung-wha Kang of South Korea to a newly created position as special advisor on policy. “We must empower youth to participate in and shape the political and economic lives of their countries and communities, to be the agents of peace and development,” Mohammed said in…
Story and photo by EMBASSY OF FRANCE, CAMEROON To bolster the battle against extremism, France donated 10 tactical vehicles and five transport trucks to the Cameroonian Armed Forces. The vehicles, including an all-equipped sanitary unit, were handed over to Cameroonian Minister of Defence Joseph Beti Assomo by French Ambassador Gilles Thibault in November 2016. The vehicles are equipped with weapons and transmission equipment, and are accompanied with precision rifles, helmets and bulletproof vests. They are valued at $705,000 and are destined for the Cameroonian Army special units. It marked the second transfer of 2016 and was part of the bilateral…
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Qatar and France promised more than $1 billion in financial support for Tunisia at an investment conference aimed at reviving the country’s struggling economy.Nearly six years after its Arab Spring revolution, Tunisia is confronting high unemployment, low growth and a tourism sector hammered by jihadist attacks. The two-day Tunisia 2020 conference in November 2016 aimed to put the North African nation “back on the investment map of the Mediterranean,” officials said. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged $1.25 billion in financial support at the opening session. He said the money would “support the Tunisian economy…
VOICE OF AMERICA The border between Nigeria and Cameroon has been fully reopened for the first time in three years. Officials from the two countries met in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, in December 2016 to review security issues and said the reopening was a clear sign of progress in the fight against Boko Haram. “Only a secured environment can provide [an] avenue for meaningful trade and commercial activities as well as unimpeded exchange of goods and services,” said Gen. Abba Mohammad Dikko, head of the Nigerian delegation. “The unflinching cooperation and support of Cameroon has indeed curtailed the menace of…