The Aquarius Berths.

The migrant ship, the Dattilo has finally entered the port of Valencia, Spain. Two other ships, the Orione and the Aquarius itself are expected to follow suit soon. The three ships are carrying between them 629 migrants who were rescued off the coast of Libya in the usual appalling conditions of horrid weather and overcrowded rubber dinghies by the NGO rescue ship, Aquarius. The ships were promptly barred from berthing in Italian and Maltese ports and have been floating in the Med ever since, a situation the Italian right-wing, anti-immigration, populist interior minister Matteo Salvini has received considerable flak for. In political bashing, soft targets are popular objects of attack. Mostly because they are easy explanations for situations that are far more complex than we are wont to admit. Italian migrant camps are overflowing and social and economic tensions are spilling over into the streets; the point that facilitates the crisis, Libya, became the lawless land it is because of the overthrow and killing of erstwhile dictator, Moammer Gaddafi, a mayhem precipitated mostly by France; the real destination of the migrants are the wealthier European countries further north, so why should Italy be at the frontline of the crisis and bear the brunt of a movement to countries that had done little to help it? The situation has become sweaty for many Italians and Salvini is merely harvesting political capital out of a situation growing popular, a not infrequent crime in politics. However it is instructive to note that on Wednesday, with the Aquarius affair raging, the coastguard ship Diciotti brought more than 900 migrants to Sicily.

Salvini.

What actually fuels

this crisis is a strange lack of articulation in EU's response to the crisis. And a poor definition of the crisis itself. Are we dealing with real asylum sekers or economic migrants? In most African countries, democracy, with attendant tolerance, is firmly taking root and political repression is on the back foot. Gone are the gory days of Uganda, Chad, Zaire e.t.c. that gave rise to huge waves of political refugees. It is the economic front that has not improved, conditions are even getting worse and the EU may begin taking some profitable actions by recognizing that the bulk of those migrants they are trying to restrain are people fleeing appalling living conditions of want: incessant power blackouts, slave wages, outright unemployment, hunger, lack of pipe-borne water. Horror of basic living conditions. Drawing an ecnomic blueprint for Africa will begin to address this horrid and intractable migrant crisis. It may turn out that a factory in Nigeria may prove less costly to set up than a migrant center in Spain.
The new Spanish government may want to gain some socialist traction by allowing the Aquarius refugees in but Sanchez has to realize drawbacks of populism are not always apparent. Migrants are from a mass of people watching closely the position every European government is taking on migration and Spain may face far more problems if it is generally perceived it has become a soft center in immigration obstacles. More Aquarius ships might be heading in that direction and the government might find itself unwilling to hunt for goodwill.

Ugandan Museum of Evil.

Adolf Hitler.

It is always difficult resisting the urge to quote Pliny the Elder's famous saying that there is always something new out of Africa and once again the ancient wise comes to mind with the decision of the Ugandan government to build a museum to the late, execrable dictator, Idi Amin Dada. According to statements credited to Stephen Asiimwe, Chief Executive of Ugandan Tourism Board, the move is to 'set the records straight'. As if what we know about this monster's nine years reign of terror is not clear and well-documented enough. What records do you still need to clarity for descendants and relatives of the over 400,000 people murdered during his evil regime? Or thousands of Asians who were driven out of the country after their businesses were confiscated? Plunging the once-buoyant economy into instant crisis. Or innocent Israeli air passengers hijacked by Arab terrorists and diverted to Kampala? This sparked Operation Thunderbolt, one of the most audacious and spectacular air assaults in history, a rescue in which Col Yoni Nentayahu, brother of the current Israeli prime minister, was killed during the raid on Entebbe Airport, Kampala. This grim buffoon made himself King of Scotland, Conqueror of the British Empire, among his many comical excesses and deservedly met his Waterloo in an infantile and immature attempt to annex the Kagera region of Tanzania. The well-motivated troops of Julius Nyerere counter-attacked instantly and in record time, captured Kampala. The beast fled to Libya, after writing one of the bloodiest, darkest chapters in world history. The same tourism boss, who could be easily accused of having a reckless way with cliches, without sounding offensive, likens Ugandan history to wine. The older it gets the better, especially with some flavors added. He should just try tipping some hemlock into the cask.
 Stephen Asiimwe and the Ugandan authorities can only succeed in establishing a museum for the sadist, the voyeur, with their plans and it is all parallel with creating a museum for Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot and other infamous denizens of history. What are we going to see there? Images of Idi Amin snarling at the governor of the Ugandan Central Bank to simply go and print money after the hapless fellow had told him the government was broke? We might be compelled to treat the whole plan as a joke if not for the curious knowledge that Idi Amin is still considered a Field Marshall in Uganda. The guy is effectively a lieutenant in the British Army and if they still accord him that regard in his country, then we cannot scream loud enough in this outrage. And to compound mischief, they are also planning to dedicate a section to the notorious Lord Resistance Army. Sadists, kidnappers, butchers and child soldiers recruiters. Uganda is very resourceful in manufacturing monsters but, sorry, few of us, very few, are interested in their showcasing.

Idi Amin Dada.

General Babangida and General Abacha: A 'Friendship' that Ruined Nigeria 2.

So Babangida started plotting against Buhari quite actively the very day the latter became head of state. And his projections about the new administration came to trenchant actualities. As he expected, Buhari left the affairs of state largely in the hands of Major General Tunde Idiagbon, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, effectively his deputy. Idiagbon was another stern, disciplined army officer who arrogantly believed Nigerians could be whipped in line in a day. But the civilian forces he was contending against were too numerous, too riotous, too stubborn and when the resistance became too intractable, it became necessary to resort to high-handed tactics. Newspapers were proscribed, journalists were jailed, unions banned and human rights abuses spiraled away. Nigerians welcomed Buhari with open arms but it didn't take long for the relationship to turn sour. In a disorganized country of 80m people with little or no civic orientation, few, very few, were ready to embrace regulated discipline. The domestic intelligence agency in those days was the National Security Organization(NSO) and overnight, its  director, Ambassador Rafindadi became a poster boy for repression and people started playing on General Idiagbon's name with that of Idi Amin Dada, Uganda's erstwhile murderous dictator. Buhari's subordinates could do all they liked knowing they would receive little or no censure from their master. It was often said Idiagbon was more powerful than the head of state himself.
All of which played into Babangida's hands. However, in order to supplant Buhari, he would have to rely on Abacha again. Abacha and Babangida were no friends. No two men could ever be so dissimilar. Babangida liked to pride himself as urbane, clever, learned and sophisticated while he regarded Abacha as dull, crude and too fond of women and drinks. On the other hand, Abacha took Babangida for a coward, a decadent sophist and a boastful buffoon. He knew Babangida's fabled intelligence to be of the dark type, one which he would use to plunge his country into political and economic disaster. Abacha relied on his sense and intuition, knowing he had more of this in his little finger than Babangida had in the whole of his brain. But if Babangida was to realize his burning ambition, become head of state, Abacha would be a necessary evil. Abacha, because of his ill-discipline and carousing lifestyle, had a huge following among officers in an army that was growing increasingly idle. He had prevailed on Babangida, who was chief of army staff, to install one of his sworn buddies, Brigadier Dongoyaro, as General Officer Commanding 2nd Mechanized Division, Ibadan, that army formation vital to the success of any coup plotter. Dongoyaro was to announce the demise of Buhari's administration on August 27,  1985. Then, in military and political calculations, the much-touted homogeneous north is in fact roughly split along Fulani and Hausa fault lines. The Buharis and the Yar'aduas belong to the Fulani group while Abacha then had the ears of the Hausa or Kano group. He was Kanuri, in far away Borno, but lived and grew up in Kano. Babangida was really an outsider, having come from Bida in far away southern margins of the north. Few Fulani officers would move against one of their own and it was imperative to garner support of the Hausa group, through General Sanni Abacha. Abacha was quite receptive to the removal of General Buhari  but he wasn't going to risk his life the second time for nothing. He too was interested in becoming head of state. He regarded himself as the Khallifa, or Successor. Kano was his adopted city, where the assassinated head of state, General Murtala Mohammed, also hailed from and there was the widespread feeling among civilian and military establishment in city that they had been shortchanged in the scheme of affairs and that they had been poorly compensated for the ill-fated regime of General Mohammed that was cut brutally short. In short, if he was going to spearhead another coup, he needed assurances he was going to get his just rewards.
Babangida said "No problem."
Abacha said he needed an assurance that looked more concrete that a verbal agreement.
Babangida then brought out a Koran and swore to the effect that whenever he was leaving power, Abacha would succeed him. That seemed to satisfy Abacha but he was no fool. He knew Babangida liked swearing falsely. Two events were to later bear him out. As the plot against him thickened, Buhari got wind of it and invited Babangida. "Ibro, I heard that you are plotting a coup against me." Babangida looked at him straight in the eye and flatly denied it and to reassure Buhari, had a Koran provided. On which he swore so volubly. The second was during the later stages of his incredibly tortuous political transition process. He had banned unbanned and banned again so many politicians that few, very few, believed the whole process had any credibility left. So when Chief M.K.O. Abiola was being persuaded to contest for president, he was naturally skeptical. So he went to Babangida who was supposed to be a great friend of his and asked if presidential vacancy truly existed in the whole political process that was looking worse than a charade every passing day. Babangida said yes and then brought out a Koran to cement the assurance.
So Abacha knew Babangida considered it fun taking the name of Allah in vain but he never betrayed a single emotion. He knew what he was going to do. He nodded and there and then, the fate of Nigeria was sealed. A horrific destination from which it was unable to free itself.