Jot Africa

How many Muslims live in sub-Saharan Africa?

Pew reports:

Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes 50 countries and territories, has about 241 million Muslims, which is about 15% of the world Muslim population. Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in Sub-Saharan Africa, with about 78 million Muslims (about 50% of Nigeria's total population). Almost one-in-three Muslims (about 32%) in Sub-Saharan Africa live in Nigeria. Western Africa is the only area in Sub-Saharan Africa with a Muslim majority. In contrast, the southern part of Africa has the smallest Muslim population.

What did the Pittsburgh G20 Summit do for Africa?

Virginia Simmons of One lists "some key points in the summit’s communique that are relevant to Africa":

Agriculture - The G20 called on the World Bank to develop a new trust fund, as a way to implement the G8’s food security initiative announced at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy in July. This multilateral fund will support the set of principles championed by the White House to make aid for agriculture more effective, coordinated and geared towards the strategies developed by poor countries themselves.

Climate change – The G20 failed to call for resources to help the poorest countries adapt to the harmful impacts of climate change, and tackle its causes. It was disappointing that there was no mention of the urgency of addressing these needs.

African Development Bank – The G20 have reaffirmed the commitment to make sure the multilateral development banks have enough finance, especially the World soft loan arm, the International Development Association (IDA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The African bank has increased its lending to respond to the financial crisis by as much as US$4bn and now needs support to replenish its coffers. ONE welcomes Canada’s announcement of an extra US$2.8bn in loan guarantees for the Bank.

World Bank and IMF- Both International Financial Institutions took steps towards increasing representation of developing countries.

Photo of a Secret Service Dog at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh. By Tawan/JOTMAN.COM.

Nigerian Haliburton bribe inquiry stalks Cheney

Daily Trust (Nigeria), 19 May 0:

Embattled former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will soon be invited by the high powered security committee recently established by the Federal Government to probe the Halliburton bribery scandal, Daily Trust learnt in Abuja last night. The former ruler is expected to explain what he knew about the scandal . . . The committee is investigating how the $180 million Halliburton bribe was shared. Halliburton, a US construction firm was said to have given $180 million as bribes to top Nigerian politicians and government officials, including those of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to win the contract for the construction of the LNG plant. The bribe allegedly spanned the period from 1995 [when Cheney took over as Halliburton CEO, WMR ed.] when the nearly $7 billion contract was awarded to 2004 and phttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2496622818794320181ossibly beyond."

H/t Madsen

Does Gazprom want Nigeria to join an oil cartel?

In Helsinki, the concern was raised that Gazprom could be exerting pressure on Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

Gas flaring in Nigeria: Shell chairman's response

At the International Press Institute* World Congress in Helsinki, Royal Dutch Shell Chairman Jorma Ollila responded to a question from an Nigerian delegate about gas flaring at its oil refineries in Nigeria.

Nigerian asks question: Nothing was said by the chairman of Shell about the problem in Nigeria caused by Shell!

Jorma Ollila: I had thought the poverty issue had been well-addressed by my colleagues. The link between climate change and poverty is well known. In terms of an industrial company's footprint, during past decade, starting year in the 2000, all major corporations are taking this issue seriously. Their track record (needs to be more) transparent. Confirmed by independent bodies. Industry track record... More needs to be done at my company.

Concerning Nigeria. The gas flaring. Nigeria is the only country of more than a dozen in which Shell is operating where gas flaring is happening. For two reasons. First, funding. Second, security. Major areas where it is not possible to work and address some issues need to be addressed. The majority of those properties are owned by the national Nigerian oil company, and they have not been willing to do so. Shell is a minority shareholder -- 30 percent. We want the flaring stopped. It's expensive to stop the flaring. It requires an investment of billions. So the trade off is different.

Jotman live-blogged the entire panel discussion which mainly concerned climate change. See "Technology and innovation: Climate change Rx?"

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* "The International Press Institute is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists . . . dedicated to the furtherance and safeguarding of press freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the practices of journalism."

Nigerians take Royal Dutch Shell to court

This video provides background to the Wiwa family lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell.

Hat-tip: Black Looks

The lawsuits are to be brought before a New York court judge on 26 May 2009. The plaintiffs allege the company was complicity in human rights abuses against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta. According to Wikipedia:

The particular incidents being raised in these cases are the 1995 judicial hangings of the Ogoni Nine, leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), the torture and detention of Owens Wiwa and Michael Tema Vizor, and the shooting of a woman, Karololo Kogbara, who was peacefully protesting the bulldozing of her crops in preparation for a Shell pipeline by Nigerian troops called in by Shell, and another female protester, Uebari N-nah.*

Check out Sokari's blog for further background on the case.

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Wikipedia: Conflict in the Niger Delta
Wikipedia: Wiwa family lawsuits against Shell*

Africa and the London G20 Summit

Daudi Were of Kenya and Sokari Ekine of Nigeria were two African bloggers who attended the G20 Summit in London in early April.

Were observed:

We are under-represented at these summits because we are increasingly irrelevant. On the global scene African countries have very little influence, even less power and no force at all (except against other African countries).

Read more about their reflections as to what the summit meant for Africa in these posts:

Daudi Were, mentalacrobatics.org (Kenyan blogger)

Sokari Ekine, BlackLooks.org (Nigerian social justice activist)

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You can survey other blogger's impressions of the summit here, and my own experience here.