Green Eagles of Nigeria

Green Eagles

Are you a soccer fan? Or, as the game is better known around the world, a football fan?

Nigeria’s Green Eagles qualified for the World Cup finals, about to start in Russia. Nigeria is in Group D. The others in the group are Argentina, Croatia, and Iceland. You can see a rundown of all the teams in this NYTimes article.

“A victory against Argentina in November will have highlighted that Nigeria has the firepower in attack and the strength in midfield to pose a problem even for the favorites,” the writer says. But he doubts they will advance out of the first stage.

I hope he’s wrong! Nigerians would be thrilled with a win, of course, and probably even thrilled with getting to the final four.

I haven’t seen the draw. But his comments about the other three teams in Group D make them sound like strong competitors.

President Buhari Visits Morocco

President Trump is not the only head of state conducting international diplomacy. Nigeria’s President Buhari was also making an international visit.

He was in Rabat, Morocco at the invitation of King Mohammed VI on a two-day state visit. The heads of state discussed terrorism and “resolved to cooperate with each other in the fight against the scourge,” according to the joint communique issued after their meeting.

The communique also said they were, “committed to tolerance and peaceful coexistence as preached by Islam.” Buhari might have mentioned these goals are also embraced by Christianity, since his country is about half Christian. I wonder if he considered doing that.

The two “underscored their commitment to the Regional Gas Pipeline, which will connect Nigeria’s gas resources, those of some [other] West African countries and Morocco, thereby fostering integration and development of countries in the West African region.” Other interesting notes from their statement said,

“The two Heads of State also noted progress made in other areas of the bilateral cooperation, as evidenced by the Agreement to invest in Fertiliser Production; and the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a Basic Chemicals Platform, specifically to develop a significant Ammonia Production Plant.

“On the basis of their exemplary cooperation, the two heads of state agreed to develop a partnership in the field of agriculture, particularly through the signing of Cooperation Agreement on vocational training and technical supervision.”

They described the cooperation as an important step in a “South-South” relationship. I assume they mean between two countries often regarded as part of the global “South,” or less developed parts of the world.

Killing by Herdsmen 

While there is cooperation on terrorism, Nigeria also faces the conflict between farmers or other civilians and herdsmen in Nigeria.

In the most recent Council on Foreign Affairs blog post, Nigeria Security Tracker, John Campbell lists sixteen incidents. Only three are related to Boko Haram, while there were five killings by herdsmen, totaling forty-two deaths.

Factors causing conflict include climate change, as the desertification advances into lands where herders have grazed their cattle. Another is the increase in population. More land is devoted to agriculture. And increased numbers of consumers want beef, so the cattle are in demand.

Is the problem intractable? If nomadic herders are confined to certain areas, those are likely to become over-grazed. Can better fencing keep the cattle from fields? Is there enough land available outside of farms and towns? I certainly don’t know the answers.

How do you think the government can solve this?

Cancer Hospital Coming in Anambra State

“Umuada” in the context of a family or clan means the women born into the family. In our Onyemelukwe family and our clan, my daughter is a member of Umuada, while I am not. Our son Sam’s daughter is also included. When his son has a daughter she will be a member.

The organization “Umuada Igbo” is an international group of Igbo women, both in Nigeria and in the Diaspora. I have met Umuada Igbo women at the UN several times.

Umuada Igbo have just announced their plan to build a cancer hospital in eastern Nigeria. The article announcing their decision says hospitals in the area are in disastrous conditions, lacking supplies, electricity, and decent space.

As I read about the decision, I wondered why they would not use their money to renovate and update existing hospitals. But I think I know the answer. Renovation is not very exciting, but a new hospital is!

Bruche’s Birthday

Our grandson Bruche celebrated his seventh birthday on Saturday. Grandpa was there to join in the festivities.

Sam sent some pictures from the party. He also sent a picture of himself and his dad at the Anglican Cathedral on Sunday morning. Clem loves the services at the Cathedral. The singing is enthusiastic, the rituals familiar, and the crowd beautifully dressed.

#mprraccoon on Twitter

Did anyone else follow the raccoon on Twitter yesterday? A raccoon was climbing the 24-story UBS building in Minneapolis. When I began following, he was resting on a ledge on the 23rd floor. There was a live feed for a while, but it went down around 11:30.

I went to bed after midnight, when he had begun to go back down, then up again.

Some of the Tweets were hilarious! “Sorry boss, can’t do anymore work until I know the #mprraccoon is safe on the ground,” said one.

This morning I saw a Tweet from late in the night. “I’ll bet the 2 am live feed of the #MprRaccoon’s adventure had a larger audience than Trump’s inauguration.”

His (or her?) odyssey made it to BBC News!

I had to check as soon as I was awake this morning!

I was relieved to learn that he was safe and released.