ANALYSISBy Mark Moritz And Mouadjamou Ahmadou

Boko Haram has been terrorising villagers in northeast Nigeria for many years. Until 2012, the group focused its attacks on cities, where it robbed banks, and villages, where it kidnapped people to work for it or used them as soldiers.

But since 2013 Boko Haram has started targeting pastoralists living in the bush, taking herds of cattle and slaughtering herders. It is likely that cattle are a major source of income for the group and not ivory, as has been suggested.

Last year thousands of pastoralists fled northeast Nigeria to save their lives and livestock. Many found refuge in the Logone Floodplain of Cameroon. In February and March 2016 our research team – consisting of faculty and students in visual anthropology from theUniversity of Maroua in Cameroon – went into the field and interviewed pastoralists about the hardships of their flight from Nigeria and their situation as refugees in Cameroon.

Last year's flight was part of a pattern that has begun to emerge over the past three years as thousands of pastoralists have fled Boko Haram's terror in northeastern Nigeria.

What makes this forced migration different is its scale. In normal years, some pastoralists deliberately change their seasonal movements to stay in Cameroon during the rainy season in search of better pastures. In the past few years, thousands of pastoralists either deliberately stayed in Cameroon after the dry season ended to avoid Boko Haram or ran from Boko Haram's terror in northeast Nigeria. The sudden and forced migration has left them vulnerable to exploitation by local populations and authorities in Cameroon, their new host country.

Pastoralists in the Chad Basin

For pastoralists, livestock do not only provide a living, they are also way of life. In the dry lands of the Chad Basin, which encompasses parts of Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, Fulani and Arab pastoralists make seasonal movements in search of water and food for their livestock. Their movements take them across national borders. Many spend the rainy season (June to September) in Nigeria and the dry season (October to May) in Cameroon.

This movement across borders has been a way of life for centuries. Anthropologist Derrick Stenning described in detail the movement patterns of pastoralists in northeastern Nigeria in the 1950s, explaining how they used their previous experiences, social networks and scouting trips to find the best pastures for their animals. They did not migrate into areas they did not know.

One would therefore expect pastoralist refugees to adapt quickly in their new host country because they are used to moving with their herds and households. Many of them already regularly spent the dry season in the Logone Floodplain of Cameroon.

The difference, of course, is that previous migrations were planned and followed the ebb and flow of the seasons. The pastoralists now flooding into Cameroon have been forced to do so because they fear for their lives and livelihoods. As refugees they have moved into unknown areas where they have no existing networks. This has dramatically affected their ability to cope.

The effects

The sudden and unplanned migration into an unknown area has led many pastoralists to suffer considerable economic losses due to their livestock suffering from exhaustion and diseases. Their livestock are not habituated to the new pastures and have been losing more weight – and value – than usual.

In addition, pastoralists are finding it difficult to sell their livestock, which is their main source of income and means of buying provisions for their families. This is because prices have plummeted as local markets have been flooded with livestock. This has happened due to a combination of factors, including a massive influx of livestock from Nigeria and the closing of markets and borders by Chadian and Cameroonian governments to control Boko Haram attacks.

On top of this, local authorities in the Logone Floodplain have begun to view pastoralist refugees and their livestock as a welcome source of income. They increased taxes for refugee pastoralists last year from 10,000 CFA francs to 70,000 CFA francs (about US$17 to $120) per herd. In addition, local populations have been stealing livestock from the refugees, who are too traumatised to fight back. One told us:

We have become just food for them.

No official support

 

Pastoralists receive no support through the official channels – either from the United Nations Refugee Agency or from the Cameroonian government. They are "invisible" because they move with their livestock to pastures in the bush, bypassing the refugee camps and entry points that are managed by the refugee agency and the government. While regular attacks on villages by Boko Haram are reported by the media and authorities, few of the attacks on pastoralists in the bush that we documented in our interviews can be found in news reports.

The only thing that pastoralist refugees want is to be left in peace in the bush. They seek no help from governments: safety and open access to pastures is enough.

They have had enough of the problems in Cameroon and hope to return to their rainy season range-lands in Nigeria when Boko Haram is defeated and it is safe for them to do so. They wax nostalgically about northeastern Nigeria, before Boko Haram, as a pastoral paradise, without farms, field chiefs, taxes or theft – just the bush and the freedom to move in peace.

Disclosure statement

Mark Moritz receives funding from the National Science Foundation (DEB-1015908, BCS-1600221, BCS-1546061, BCS-1211986, BCS-0748594).

Mouadjamou Ahmadou does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

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Read the original article on The Conversation Africa.

Around 1,000 people have marched through the streets of Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, to protest against a UN decision to send a police contingent to monitor the security and human rights situation in the country.

Saturday's demonstration came a day after the UN Security Council agreed to deploy up to 228 police personnel to Bujumbura, and throughout Burundi, for an initial period of a year.

More than 450 people have been killed since President Pierre Nkurunziza pursued and won a third term last year, a move his opponents say violated the constitution and a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005.

Tit-for-tat violence by rival sides has left both government officials and members of the opposition dead, with more than a quarter of a million people fleeing the violence.

French embassy march

Led by Freddy Mbonimpa, the mayor of Bujumbura, the protesters marched peacefully on Saturday to the French embassy, angry at France's drafting of the UN resolution to send the police squad.

One demonstrator carried a banner saying that it was France that needed UN peacekeepers, making a reference to a lorry attack in the southern French city of Nice that killed 84 people.

French ambassador Gerrit van Rossum, who went out to address the crowd, said there was "a deep misunderstanding" about France's role at the UN security council.

He said there was "no problem" at the demonstration.

The crowd also protested outside the Rwandan embassy, accusing the neighbouring country of training Burundi rebels.

Nkurunziza's government has previously said it would only accept up to 50 unarmed UN police and that its sovereignty must be fully respected.

The UN needs approval from Burundi's government to send the police force.

Four of the 15 council members abstained from Friday's vote.

"Given an increase in violence and tension the Security Council must have eyes and ears on the ground to predict and ensure that the worst does not occur in Burundi," said Francois Delattre, the French UN ambassador.

The violence has caused alarm in a region where memories of Rwanda's 1994 genocide are still vivid. Like Rwanda, Burundi has an ethnic Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority.

Ambassador's warning

So far, the violence has largely followed political rather than ethnic lines. But the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said last month he feared increased violence and incitement could turn ethnic in nature.

"This time we are not waiting for the worst to occur before taking action," Siti Hajjar Adnin, Malaysia's deputy ambassador, told the council.

However, Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, said Friday's resolution was not strong enough and that the UN police would simply be observers to Burundi's problems.

She warned that the situation was "all but certain to deteriorate".

"It is not at all clear to me that a council that says repeatedly that it has learned the lesson of Rwanda has in fact done so," Power said.

"Police are not being deployed to protect civilians, even though civilians are in dire need of protection. That should embarrass us."

Al Jazeera's Daniel Lak, reporting from the UN headquarters, in New York, said: "The ability of 228 police officers who are basically monitoring human rights and helping build capacity and reporting back to headquarters – they're not really going to be able to do much to stop violence. But it is a symbolic move by the Security Council.

"They'll be telling the world what's going on there, and that's the key – the international community is back in Burundi."

Council veto power China, along with Angola, Egypt and Venezuela, abstained from the vote.

"On the question of sending United Nations police to Burundi, it is necessary to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Burundi," Liu Jieyi, China's UN ambassador, told the council.

He said the resolution did not reference these principles, which is why China abstained.

 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a message of congratulations and best wishes to the Government and people of the Republic of Benin on the occasion commemorating that country's 56th Independence Anniversary.

On August 1, the Republic of Benin celebrates its Independence Day to commemorate its freedom from France in 1960. In 1899, the French included the land called French Dahomey within the larger French West Africa colonial region. In 1958, France granted autonomy to the Republic of Dahomey and full independence on August 1, 1960.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, in her message to Mr. Patrice Talon, President of the Republic of Benin, President Sirleaf, on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia, and in her own name, extended heartfelt congratulations and best wishes as they celebrate this historic occasion.

The Liberian leader entertained the hope that the cordial relationship subsisting between their two countries and peoples will be further strengthened for the mutual benefit of their two countries.

She prayed that as Benin celebrates this historic occasion, the Almighty God will endow President. Talon with abundant wisdom and strength as he leads his people to sustainable peace and greater prosperity. LINA/PR/TSS

Lagos — DJIBOUTI has become the newest member of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), an international investment grade multilateral finance institution investing in key infrastructure projects across Africa.

Speaking from Lagos, Ali Guelleh Aboubaker, Minister of Investments in the Office of the President, expressed delight Djibouti had become a member of AFC, an international organisation with a proven track record in large-scale infrastructure investment.

He said the government of Djibouti was committed to proactively investing in essential infrastructure to drive economic growth and doing what they could attract international private investors to infrastructure investment opportunities.

"We look forward to working with AFC to deliver projects with real and positive economic and social impact across the country," said Aboubaker.

Andrew Alli, President and Chief Executive Officer of AFC, welcomed Djibouti to the corporation.

He described Djibouti is a small but important market, with natural strengths as a transport and logistics hub thanks to the government's successful free trade policies and its location at the gateway to the Red Sea.

"Djibouti offers some great investment opportunities and AFC is delighted to be assisting Djibouti to meet its full growth potential and to create jobs for its citizens," Alli said.

Djibouti is the 14th country and the third east African country to join the AFC.

The corporation's other members are Cape Verde, Chad, Ghana, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra-Leone, Rwanda, The Gambia and Uganda.

Membership enables AFC to receive preferred creditor status within the country, the benefits of which reduce AFC's investment risk, enabling the corporation to provide more competitive financing solutions.

A source told Al Jazeera that four people were killed on Saturday in the northern Gondar region, in addition to two people killed in the area on Friday. Located 700km north of Addis Ababa, Gondar is a region dominated by the ethnic Amharas.

Ethiopian authorities would not confirm the death toll.

The reported deaths come as dozens of ethnic Oromo protesters were arrested in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

At least 500 Oromo people – protesting against alleged economic inequality and discrimination – gathered amid a heavy police presence on the capital's main Meskel Square.

The protesters, who shouted slogans such as "we want our freedom" and "free our political prisoners", were dispersed by police using batons. Dozens were arrested.

A Reuters news agency video of the confrontation showed unarmed protesters being beaten and kicked by police officers, as protesters ran to evade arrest.

Prime Minister Haile Mariam Dessalegn on Friday announced a ban on demonstrations, which "threaten national unity" and called on police to use all means at their disposal to prevent them.

The rally was organised by opposition groups from the Oromo, Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, who have held protests for months against what they say is government discrimination. They have been joined recently by ethnic Amharas, and protests have been reported in other parts of the country.

The Oromo and Amhara together make up some 80 percent of Ethiopia's population and claim they suffer discrimination in favour of ethnic Tigrayans, who they say occupy the key jobs in the government and security forces.

Ethiopian authorities told the AFP news agency that at least a dozen people have been killed in clashes with police over territorial disputes in recent weeks.

Local people told AFP there had been rallies and clashes with police in the city of Ambo and Nemekte, in the Oromo region, as well as a calls for protests in Baher Dar in the Amhara region.

 

The Management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Lagos Region, on Sunday announced a one-day power outage in some parts of Lagos on Monday to effect repairs.

TCN announced the outage in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Celestina Osin, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

The statement said the areas that would be affected include Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Alagbon, Apapa, Ijora, Surulere, Itire, Oshodi, Mushin, Nigerian Air Force Base, Shogunle and all their environs.

It said that there was an urgent need by the company to disrupt electricity supply to them from the Akangba 132KV Transmission Substation on July 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The statement said the reason for the planned outage was to enable the MBH contractor carry out important repairs on the Itire 132KV Transmission Line 1 and the Ojo 132KV Transmission Line 2.

It noted that it was from the lines that the areas were fed electricity.

“During the period the outage will last, the 4×90 MVA power transformers and another 150MVA power transformer will be out of service at the Akamgba 132KV Substation to provide a safe working space for the workers.

“We promise to restore supply to all the affected areas as soon as the work is concluded.

“We sincerely apologise for the short notice for the outage and regrets inconveniences this will cause all that will be affected,” the statement said.

Abuja — The federal government Monday disclosed that it was already making efforts to generate electricity from nuclear materials, particularly through the exploration, exploitation and utilisation of uranium.

It said to achieve this it has invited experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct a one week training for nuclear practitioners as well as security officers in the country on the extraction, exploitation and utilisation of the substance.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said at the opening ceremony for the national training course on nuclear security for the uranium extraction industry in Abuja, that it was important for Nigeria to exploit available resources to meet her power needs.

Fayemi, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr. Wuyep Karnap, said: “Last week at the National Council on Power conference in Kaduna, the issue of uranium for power generation was actually canvassed as a vital component in the energy mix equation.

“So, this training is coming at the right time where capacity to explore, exploit and utilise uranium for power generation and other uses cannot be overemphasised. And apart from the exploration, exploitation and utilisation, the security and health aspects of uranium needs to be taken care of, and that is why we have security delegates here.”

The government in March, announced it was working towards generating 4,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity using nuclear energy.

It stated then that the plan was to start a programme in the coming years that will give the country 1,000MW in the first instance, which will be increased to 4,000MW thereafter.

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NNRA), Prof. Lawrence Dim, however told journalists that the latest training would expose participants on how to improve uranium for power generation, as the country does not have the required technology to do that at the moment.

When asked if it was now safe to explore the nuclear substance across the country, Dim said: “Uranium exploration in Nigeria is quite safe. We have not had any cause to find out that there is any high level of radiation or exposure relating to that.

“The issue is that the uranium we get in our soil is the natural uranium; although it has radioactive material, the concentration is low. So we don’t have any situation where the level of radiation coming out from it is detected to be harmful.”

He added: “This course is also to enlighten our people on the implication of uranium mining. For if somebody gets a substantial part of uranium, that will trigger security concern. So we have developed regulations and have gazetted them to practitioners to serve as a guide in the usage and movement of uranium materials.”

Also, the Senior Nuclear Security Officer for IAEA, Mr. Robert Larsen, stated that the exploration of uranium in Nigeria does not pose any threat to global security.

“I don’t think so, I have no reason to believe that at all. As a matter of fact I believe Nigeria is a good nuclear partner and that’s is why the agency is here to see how we can assist in uranium extraction,” Larsen said.

South Africa has flexed its economic muscle, telling Zimbabwe to reduce duty and surtax on 112 products in response to Harare’s recent trade restrictions.

Last month, Zimbabwe promulgated Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 of 2016 that restricted the importation of many products in a bid to protect local industries.

The import restriction has riled regional neighbours and the matter came up for discussion when Industry and Commerce minister Mike Bimha met his South African counterpart Rob Davies in South Africa last week.

The meeting was a follow up to the bilateral meeting of officials from the ministry of Industry and Commerce and their South African counterparts on July 20 on trade matters.

Briefing journalists on Friday on the meeting, Bimha said in response to the request of a review on surtax and duty, government offered to get back to them in an official capacity in “two weeks”.

“There are 112 products which they [South Africa] want us to consider in terms of phasing down duty and surtax,” he said.

“We would want to carry out consultations because some of these products would require input from other ministries and institutions.

“There was no communication to me that there was going to be a retaliatory response from South Africa to SI 64 of 2016.

“We have not banned anything; we are only regulating.

“In terms of the World Trade Organisation, provision is made for a country to resort to a safeguard measure if there is evidence of a surge of imports that will affect a country’s manufacturing sector.”

Bimha said the proposed review on duty and surtax on the 112 products was not in retaliation to the import ban.

However, Bimha’s remarks were in contrast to a statement posted by South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in which Davies tells his counterpart of the continued introduction of trade restrictive measures on South African exports destined to Zimbabwe.

It said the two ministers agreed that Zimbabwe would respond to South Africa’s request that where there was no productive capacity in Zimbabwe, such products should not be subjected to trade restrictive measures.

“Zimbabwe committed to provide a response in preparation for the extraordinary committee of ministers meeting scheduled for August 24 2016. Furthermore, Minister Bimha indicated that Zimbabwe will apply for a derogation and will provide greater clarity on the duration of these measures,” DTI said.

At the meeting, Davies reminded Bimha that the integrity of the Sadc Trade Protocol was placed at risk by the introduction of a range of trade restrictive measures that limited intra-Sadc trade, but “have the effect of opening the Zimbabwean market to non-Sadc imports into Zimbabwe.”

“South Africa hopes that the government of Zimbabwe will respond positively to the concerns raised by South Africa to ensure that the Zimbabwean market remains open to South Africa while at the same time being sensitive to Zimbabwe’s industrial development and balance of payments challenges,” it added.

Early this month, Zimbabwe removed many products from the open general import licence, a move which riled regional neighbours, notably South Africa with DTI warning that such restrictions would have negative implications on intra-regional trade.

Goods that have been removed from the open general import licence and now require a permit to be brought into the country include coffee creamers (Cremora), camphor creams, white petroleum jellies and body creams.

Goods categorised as builders’ ware like wheelbarrows (flat pan and concrete pan wheelbarrows), structures and parts of structures of iron or steel (bridges and bridges section, lock gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors, windows and their frames and threshold for doors, shutters, balustrade, pillars and columns) and plates, rods, angles, shapes section and tubes prepared for use in structures of iron and steel ware were also included.

Zimbabwe is South Africa’s fifth biggest export market in Africa. In 2015, Zimbabwe imported goods and services worth $1,8 billion from South Africa, according to DTI statistics.

South African firms like trading with Zimbabwe due to the strong currency the country uses at a time when the South African rand has been volatile.