New African articles from December 2008

New African archives from December 2008

The best ever!(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Many of us love New African for various reasons. For me, African history is the resource of our people throughout the world now and forever. We can all be proud of where we began, our stamina and endurance through exploitation and disaster and...

God bless your work.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Since I first came across this educative magazine over two years ago, I have never missed a single issue, nor has my private mini library lacked a copy since June 2005, for it serves as a source of motivation and inspiration. As a high...

Time to set the record straight.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... I am writing to commend the New African team for the great work you are doing. The October issue was very enlightening, particularly the articles dealing with celebrating Africa's glorious legacy to the world. Thanks to the contributors of...

Ethiopia and proxy imperialist wars.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... New African is by far the most interesting magazine I have come across lately. To further your Pan-African ideology, I would suggest that you cover Somalia, which would include exposing the US-backed Ethiopian onslaught for what it is. I...

Great insight, Stella!(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Certainly Stella Orakwue is great and insightful, and should have, and indeed has, revolutionary tendencies. Take even the most casual look at Africa's "leaders" today. I am here referring to Winston Smith's letter, Stella oye! (NA, Oct) which...

Knife crime in London.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... So Kwaku got four pages in New African to enlighten us (particularly the non-Londoners) about youth-on-youth violence in London (NA, Aug/Sept, Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child). And what did he do? He blew it! Kwaku didn't ask those who...

Our leaders can do better.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Too often, African leaders have failed to squarely face the sobering facts of Africa's present condition. This is reflective of a broader failure of leadership. Instead of addressing the myriad crises facing the continent, many African leaders...

Oh, my beloved Nigeria.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Having read with interest The Case for the Opposition (NA, June), I feel compelled to write a few lines in response. I am not surprised that elections in Nigeria are not free and fair, because I know that our politicians are not up to scratch,...

'You are just Africans'.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... None of your previous correspondents on the subject of the Western media bias against Africa--neither Valentine Oduenyi who speaks of a "malignant conspiracy" nor Ogbazgy A. Asmerom for whom "our own credible media outlets" is the...

Educating the West.(READERS' VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... I was very interested in the June 2008 issue of New African which covered the reporting of Africa in the Western media. I am an education officer for an NGO in New Zealand and I write resources about global and development issues for high...

Correction.(READERS' VIEWS)(Correction notice)
December 1, 2008... There was a mix-up on the captions of two photos in our October and November issues; the first, on p21 of our October issue was a photo of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, not Socrates as we wrongly captioned it; and the second on p10 of our...

The reason to believe.(US ELECTIONS)(Essay)
December 1, 2008... Yes, we knew that he would do it. The poll of polls said it, weeks before Election Day. But no-one expected the massive landslide it turned out to be--Barack Obama's 364 collegiate votes to John McCain's 162. Simply incredible! And with that,...

Hope is everywhere! Tears of joy, high hopes and harsh realities confront African-Americans after Obama's historic win, reports Ingrid Walter from Washington DC.(US ELECTIONS)
December 1, 2008... In the pristine, well treed, once all-white affluent suburb of Montgomery County (with its 800,000 residents), a young black woman stands in front of a table adorned with Barack Obama's blue posters, stickers and campaign cards. It is voting...

This is our time.(US ELECTIONS)(Barack Obama's victory speech)(Speech)
December 1, 2008... "I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you... the millions of Americans who volunteered and organised and proved that more than two centuries later a...

The world rejoices: Barack Obama's campaign generated so much interest and enthusiasm around the world that when his victory was finally declared, the responses from prominent leaders and personalities came in waves. Here are just a few ...(US ELECTIONS)
December 1, 2008... Former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan: "It's an historic event; one that I had not expected to see in my lifetime. Obama's victory demonstrates America's extraordinary capacity to renew itself and adapt to a changing world." ...

The long walk from slave market to the White House.(US ELECTIONS)(Chronology)
December 1, 2008... Barack Obama's victory has come on the back of a long struggle in which African-Americans uprooted from the mother continent of Africa were reduced to mere chattels, worked to death, abused, then much later given the vote, and some of them...

Barack's hope, Bush's horror: the audacity of Barack Obama's hope is tempered by the limitations imposed on him by the economic profligacy left behind by George W. Bush. But the fact that Obama is not going to fulfill the unrealistic expectations of anyone is no reason why we should not rejoice at his spectacular victory, argues Cameron Duodu.(US ELECTIONS)(Essay)
December 1, 2008... Let's start by getting a few facts straight: Fact No.1: Obama is not going to tour Africa soon, signing cheques to bolster the budgets of impoverished African countries. Fact No.2: Obama is not going to be able to provide jobs for all poor...

One in the eye for West African slavers: there are some stories that give one hope that all is not lost in our all too gloomy world. One such story is that of the 24-year-old woman from Niger, Hadjiatou Mani, who has defeated the government of Niger in a slavery case brought before the ECOWAS Court of Justice.(Under the Neem Tree)(Economic Community of West African States)
December 1, 2008... Hadjiatou Mani took the government of Niger to the ECOWAS Court of Justice for "failing to protect her against slavery". And wonder of wonders, the court found in her favour and awarded her about $40,000 damages. ECOWAS (or the Economic...

Land reform bites the dust: one of the most important and emotive issues of South Africa's liberation struggle, the land question, has officially bitten the dust--albeit temporarily. So far, only 4% of the 87% of farmland forcibly taken from blacks in 1913 has successfully been redistributed since the ANC came to power in 1994. Pusch Commey reports from Johannesburg.(SOUTH AFRICA)
December 1, 2008... In March this year, the South African cabinet approved a land expropriation bill that was meant to speed up the land reform programme aimed at transferring 30% of farmland to black ownership by 2014. The new bill was enacted following concerns...

Things fall apart in the ANC: it was long predicted. But like most divorces, when it finally came, it was full of recriminations, betrayal and hurt feelings that would not easily go away. Pusch Commey reports on how South Africa's ruling ANC broke into two parts--and they are still squabbling.(SOUTH AFRICA)(African National Congress)
December 1, 2008... One early morning in October 2008, the former defence minister in Thabo Mbeki's government and former chairperson of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Mosiuoa "Terror" Lekota, came on the radio to rail against the ANC and hint at the...

One year of Koroma: President Ernest Bai Koroma's government has been in office for one year now and, as Alie Kallay reports from Freetown, a lot has changed over the past year. But can Koroma sustain it? The people are waiting and watching.(SIERRA LEONE)
December 1, 2008... On 17 September, the government of President Ernest Bai Koroma celebrated its first anniversary in office, and it had good reason to be happy with its first-year performance. A lot has happened over the past year to warrant celebration...

Editor's note.
December 1, 2008... Yes, we are still in that "it hasn't sunk-in-yet, oh-my-goodness" mode--America will have its first ever Black family in the White House! Celebrations are still reverberating across the world as the momentum to President Barack Obama's...

Women should show what they are really made of.(YOUR VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... I would very much like to welcome the New African Woman magazine. However, I was shocked when I read Lamin Keita's letter in the last issue saying "a woman's magazine is a waste of resources". It's a shame to have an African brother...

Well done for going beyond glossy.(YOUR VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... I have just read your magazine back home in Kenya--it came from my mom who is over 55 years old--and I totally agree with her comments. Your magazine is a beautiful and inspirational read for women of all ages, as you can see from my mom and...

Women are not sex objects.(YOUR VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... As a proud African who loves Africa and everything it has, I am very disappointed in Alan Barnard's comments and his persistent destructive criticism of the New African Woman. I don't think the magazine is designed to entertain anybody's...

Ideal African beauty is broad.(YOUR VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... I liked your article on the ideal African woman and ideal African beauty (New African Woman, August/September). As a researcher on this type of African issues, I think ideal beauty involves many elements because typical Africa beauty has...

Alan's beef on women unwarranted.(YOUR VIEWS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... I think Alan Barnard's comments on the New African Woman magazine cannot go unresponded to. New African Woman is not a glamour magazine, it is a celebration of the African Woman. Just as the New African is a celebration of Africa, a media...

Obama's rock and Mum-in-chief.(COVER STORY)(Michelle Obama)
December 1, 2008... Michelle Obama's devotion, dedication, vibrancy and articulacy on issues during her husband's campaign for the White House proved beyond any doubt why president-elect Barack Obama calls her "my rock". In his autobiography The Audacity of Hope...

The first wives' club: life in the White House in their own words.(COVER STORY)
December 1, 2008... Barbara Bush: "The First Lady is going to be criticised no matter what she does. If she does too little. If she does too much. And I think you just have to be yourself and do the best you can. And so what? That's the way it is." ...

Good scents: the enchanting Glamour.(BEAUTY AND FASHION)
December 1, 2008... The Fragrance Reinforcing their trademark 'classico con twist' Moschino presents Glamour--a magical and enchanting perfume, with the promise of charm and seductive femininity. A floral and fruity fragrance, an elixir of ethereal and...

Time matters: Alex Enahoro previews the 19th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), the world's biggest exhibition in the watch industry, which also showcases the relationship between watchmaking and women. It takes place in Geneva next month.(BEAUTY AND FASHION)
December 1, 2008... In the first half of this year, the Swiss watchmaking industry registered an export growth 13.4%. Its against this backdrop that the SIHH returns to the Swiss capital on 19 January to promote the watch industry once again. The first of its kind...

Black women's politically correct hair: there is no other group of people in the world today who experience so much ado about their ever-evolving hairdos as we black women. Regina Jere-Malanda looks at the vexing and never-ending debate on Afro hair in the reconstruction of the contemporary black woman's identity, to reveal why political correctness seems glued to our hairstyles.(HAIR AND BEAUTY)
December 1, 2008... As can be seen on these pages, black women today rarely wear their hair naturally. Next to skin colour, hair is truly the other most visible stereotype of being a black woman. Physically, socially, economically and stylistically, black women's...

Dakore Egbuson: Dakore Egbuson is one of the most recognised and beautiful actresses from a number of Nollywood film classics. But beyond her acting and celebrated beauty lie versatile talents, which have seen her achieve admirable success in different fields on her rise to fame. For New African Woman, Alex Enahoro caught up with her while she was in Hollywood filming a new venture--her own talk show.(CELEBRITY INTERVIEW)(Interview)
December 1, 2008... Alex: Thank you very much for speaking to us and congratulations on launching The Dakore show. Can you tell us more about this new venture? Dakore: It is an honour and a pleasure. Basically, the show is a way to express the real me and to...

Ten simple ways to an ECO beauty lifestyle: with a few simple steps, you can follow and live a greener lifestyle. New African Woman recommends this extract from The Little Green Book of Beauty (250 tips for an ECO lifestyle) by Sarah Callard. Here is an extract.(WELL-BEING)
December 1, 2008... Avoiding SLS Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) is a known irritant and a common ingredient in many beauty and body-care products. Found in most shampoos, hair conditioners, body washes and bubble baths, SLS is a strong detergent and foaming...

Eco chic: ethical beauty is the way to go this Christmas.(WELL-BEING)
December 1, 2008... New African Woman recommends another must-have beauty accessory-but this time it's your social conscience. Days of shopping with a clear conscience are truly with us and where else to look than fairly-traded and eco-friendly beauty products?...

Africa's fashion queen: Oumou Sy (inset), Senegal's famous made in Africa couturier continues to delight her customers and inspire her fellow designers, leading a revival of traditional African fabrics and fashions to create thoroughly modern collections. Stephen Williams went to meet her in Dakar.(FASHION)
December 1, 2008... I last met and profiled Oumou Sy three years ago, and on a recent trip to West Africa I was determined to talk to her again and learn what direction her work had taken. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Against all the odds faced by an African...

The humble queen of academia: for a woman who sees challenges in the line of duty as exciting moments because they bring out the best in her, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang's appointment as Vice Chancellor of Ghana's University of Cape Coast (UCC) could not have come at a better time. Stephen Gyasi Jnr went to meet the first woman to occupy such a position in Ghana, and she doesn't disappoint.(WOMEN WHO INSPIRE)
December 1, 2008... When Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang assumed office in October, she was unequivocal about her vision for Ghana's prestigious institution: "To make the University of Cape Coast one of the preferred global institutions that provide...

Mama Afrika: goes home in song.(TRIBUTE)(Miriam Makeba)(In memoriam)
December 1, 2008... She lived her life singing and died in song. On 10 November, at the age of 76, Miriam Makeba, the legendary singer we all came to affectionately call "Mama Afrika" bade a final farewell. Pusch Commey in Johannesburg traces the wonderful life,...

Fit for a king (sorry, president).(GHANA)(Golden Jubilee House)
December 1, 2008... Since independence in 1957, Ghana has been ruled from the same slave castle, Christianborg, at Osu on the shores of the capital Accra, from where Britain once commanded all it surveyed. Now, not any more. A brand new state house was...

Kenya on the mend.(KENYA)
December 1, 2008... The first two months of 2008 saw Kenya in severe turmoil. The general elections at the end of December 2007 had gone badly, and the nation was being torn apart by post-election violence. Over 1,000 lay dead and scores of thousands more were...

At last, something is happening in Lagos: the UN has predicted that Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, will be the third-largest city in the world in 2015, with 25 million people. Babatunde Fashola, governor of Lagos State, talked to Kaye Whiteman about the challenges for the future of a city that is already a mega-city, but which aspires to proper world-city status.(NIGERIA)
December 1, 2008... Lagos has a dreadful reputation. There was a time when travel books like the Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet guide simply recommended avoiding it, and even now American correspondents like George Packer of The New Yorker and Will Connors of...

Does power-sharing have a future? Will Zimbabwe's inclusive government ever work? That is the question on everyone's mind. The events of the past few months since the three main political parties signed a power-sharing agreement have heightened fears that the inclusive government will suffer a stillbirth, or at least something close to it. Mabasa Sasa reports from Harare.(ZIMBABWE)
December 1, 2008... On 9 November, about six weeks after the signing of the power-sharing agreement between the country's three main parties, and nine long months after the 29 March general elections, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) met in South...

Ecobank Group's historic celebrations: the continent's first pan-African bank, Ecobank, has cut the sod to begin work on its ultra-modern headquarters building in Lome, Togo, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary celebrations.(BANKING)
December 1, 2008... On the Atlantic seaboard, just east of Lome's city centre, is the site of the Ecobank Group's new headquarters complex. Following an international tender for its design, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of the...

Whose fault is it?(AFRICA AT THE UN)
December 1, 2008... "No African country will achieve all the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015," revealed the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, at the 63rd General Assembly held in September. But, as Ife Kamau Cush reports from New York, part of the...

Must there be wars without end? How does one explain the cyclical wars in eastern DRCongo? Simple! The Tutsi insurgents are encouraged by the "return of the white patronage" over the vast and mineral-rich central African country, reports Antoine Roger Lokongo.(DRCONGO)
December 1, 2008... We have the words of Albrecht Conze, who in 2006 was the political chief of MONUC, the French acronym for the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, for it! In an interview given to Spiegel Online on 17 August 2006, Conze, who is now Germany's...

Banda rules, Sata feels cheated.(ZAMBIA)
December 1, 2008... In a snap presidential election on 30 October, Zambia's ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) successfully defended its stay in power after narrowly repelling a fierce opposition challenge. The new president has extended a "hand of...

Lockerbie, a fishy tale.(LIBYA/UK/US)
December 1, 2008... Twenty years ago, (21 December 1988, to be precise), Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, en route to New York, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. It was, and still is, the worst terrorist atrocity in Britain....

A historic event worth commemorating.(AFRICA)
December 1, 2008... December 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the All-African People's Conference, held in Accra in December 1958, for the general mobilisation of support for freedom fighters to execute the final phase of the total liberation of Africa. On the...

Another one to celebrate: they call themselves "Afro-pessimists". And their fallacious "philosophy" teaches that the black man can never achieve anything worthwhile. Well, Barack Obama in the US, and Lewis Hamilton in the UK--after winning the Formula One championship at only his second attempt--have proved them all wrong! Cameron Duodu reports.(SPORT)
December 1, 2008... Some Afro-pessimists even believe that the colour black is "cursed"! If you dispute it, they trot out a whole list of cliches to try and convince you that this nonsense is the gospel truth. "What colour was Idi Amin, who killed so many people...

Where are the African-Latinos?(OPINION)
December 1, 2008... In South America, racism is still a major impediment for the descendants of the Africans who were enslaved 500 years ago, despite their having made great intellectual, artistic and scientific contributions to the cultures they entered. As part...