Regards,
Ivory Coast strongman Gbagbo arrested but some African patriots are unhappy!!! If African patriots are unhappy that UN military helps to ousts a dictator who refuses to leave after he was defeated in an election several months ago, what hope do we have for the future of Africa?
Looking at the question, comment, or concern expressed in the e-mail by Dr. Valentine Ojo as presented below, it is easy to see the big dilemma that we (the future hopes for Africa) must continue to deal with as we face the challenges for the future development of Africa!!! To be sure, Dr. Ojo is right that it tantamount to a violation of the sovereignty of the independent state of Côte d'Ivoire for the United Nations, NATO, France, or any other external power to take out Gbagbo, the dictator who refused to leave after being defeated in an election, but how do we reconcile this concern with what we have been witnessing in the Middle Eastern nations? How long should we wait for Africans to solve their problems before it would be justifiable for any external force, including God for that matter, to step in and do the dirty work for us? The masses in such a society only hope for such an external intervention when all the internal remedial institutions fail. Recently we read that "U.S. war ship arrives Nigeria" to ensure that we have a successful Presidential election this year. Should we protest that? If not, why not?
Hyacinth Ezeamii
Albany State University
Albany, GA
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/11/501364/main20052728.shtml#ixzz1JDytF5q5
-----Original Message-----
From: NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com [mailto:NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Dr. Valentine Ojo
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2011 10:11 AM
To: AfricanTalk
Cc: Participants.Group@mango.metrocast.net; alukome@gmail.com
Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] RE: | BREAKING NEWS: Ivory Coast: Gbagbo held after French troops move in
In PLAIN ENGLISH:
Gbagbo arrested by French troops!
But how many European heads of state have ever been arrested or detained for anything by Africans or by even the Europeans themselves or the UN...?
Not even Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin or Franco!
This is a shameful development!
Are African in reality - de facto - really still colonies of Europe...?
Africans should PROTEST this TRAVESTY and continued SUBJUGATION of AFRICA by Europe!
Dr. Valentine Ojo
Tall Timbers, MD
On Mon 04/11/11 10:03 AM , Mobolaji ALUKO alukome@gmail.com sent:
My African compatriots:
After a lunch date with Ouattara and photographed shaking of hands, Gbagbo and his family should be flown out toute de vite to Haiti or to some French-speaking part of Canada.
Yep...I am happy that he was not martyred.
Bolaji Aluko
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13039825
BBC NEWS
11 April 2011 Last updated at 09:49 ET
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Ivory Coast: Gbagbo held after French troops move in
Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo (file image)<http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52109000/jpg/_52109551_011741752-1.jpg> Mr Gbagbo had been refusing to cede power
Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo has been detained, after being snatched from his besieged residence in the country's main city, Abidjan.
News that he was being held was broken by a Gbagbo aide and confirmed by France's ambassador and forces loyal to his rival Alassane Ouattara.
French tanks earlier advanced on the presidential residence in Abidjan.
Mr Gbagbo has been refusing to cede power to Mr Ouattara after losing November's presidential election.
"Gbagbo has been arrested by French special forces in his residence and has been handed over to the rebel leaders," an aide to Mr Gbagbo, Toussaint Alain, told Reuters news agency from Paris.
There were conflicting accounts about how Mr Gbagbo had been captured, with France's ambassador saying he had been taken by troops loyal to Mr Ouattara.
A spokesman for Mr Ouattara told Reuters that Mr Gbagbo had been taken to the city's Golf Hotel, where Mr Ouattara himself has been staying.
UN peacekeepers have accused Gbabgo forces of endangering the civilian population, and had asked French troops in Ivory Coast to act against the defiant leader's heavy weapons.
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/11/ivory.coast.crisis/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1
CNN News
Self-declared president arrested in Ivory Coast
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 11, 2011 9:53 a.m. EDT
Laurent Gbagbo lost the presidential election in November, according to international observers, but refused to leave office.<http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/WORLD/africa/04/11/ivory.coast.crisis/t1larg.gbagbo.nov2010.gi.afp.jpg>
Laurent Gbagbo lost the presidential election in November, according to international observers, but refused to leave office.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Self-declared president arrested in Ivory Coast
* Forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara fight for control of the main city
* The U.N. attacked Gbagbo positions earlier after they came under attack
* Gbagbo loyalists were endangering civilians, a U.N. official says
(CNN) -- The self-declared president of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, was arrested Monday, the French Embassy in that country said.
Security forces of the Ivory Coast arrested him, the embassy said.
A Gbagbo adviser, Ahoua Don Mello, said earlier that the French military had stormed Gbagbo's residence.
Gbagbo's refusal to cede power triggered a political crisis in the West African nation.
<http://www.cnn.com/video/world/2011/04/10/rivers.ivory.coast.chaos.cnn.256x144.jpg> Ivory Coast chaos continues
<http://www.cnn.com/video/world/2011/04/09/rivers.ic.refugees.cnn.384x216.jpg> Ivory Coast bitter battle
RELATED TOPICS
* Cote d'Ivoire <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Cote_d_Ivoire>
* United Nations <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/United_Nations>
* Laurent Gbagbo <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Laurent_Gbagbo>
* Alassane Ouattara <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Alassane_Ouattara>
* Abidjan <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Abidjan>
Forces loyal to the two men who claim to be president of Ivory Coast had clashed in the country's main city overnight, the United Nations and a local resident told CNN Monday.
U.N. forces are not planning strikes on Gbabgo's forces Monday but were prepared to hit his troops "if it's needed," said Hamadoun Toure, a spokesman for U.N. mission to the country.
The U.N. "was not involved" in the fighting between Gbagbo's troops and those of Alassane Ouattara overnight, Toure said.
Gbagbo lost a presidential election to Ouattara in November, according to international observers, but refused to leave office. The two sides have been battling for control of the main city, Abidjan, for weeks.
U.N. military helicopters pounded heavy weapons positions of fighters loyal to Gbagbo on Sunday, United Nations officials said.
The attack came after pro-Gbagbo forces shelled the hotel where Ouattara and the United Nations are headquartered, said Choi Young-jin, head of the U.N. mission in the country.
"So we decided we cannot pass this moment without action," Choi said.
Together with the French military, U.N. forces targeted key positions. Choi said there were "several camps" belonging to the Gbagbo loyalists. "We are taking them out."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he ordered the military operation Sunday "to prevent the use of heavy weapons which threaten the civilian population of Abidjan and our peacekeepers."
The U.N. mission does not extend to extracting Gbagbo from his residence, Choi said. It would be up to pro-Ouattara forces to oust Gbagbo, he said.
Ban renewed his call for Gbagbo "to step aside immediately."
"Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence," the secretary-general said. "The fighting must stop. Mr. Gbagbo needs to step aside immediately."
U.N. spokesman Toure said that Gbagbo loyalists continue to control three main areas -- the presidential palace, Gbagbo's residence and the state television station, RTI. He said the French military and U.N. forces are in charge of the Abidjan port.
Violence erupted after Ivory Coast's disputed presidential election in November and escalated into all-out war when Ouattara's forces launched an offensive that brought them into Abidjan.
As Gbagbo has refused to cede power, the political stalemate has plunged the cocoa-producing West African nation into crisis.
The U.N. human rights office said Friday that its investigators found more than 100 bodies over 24 hours in three Ivory Coast towns.
Ouattara's forces appeared to be on the verge of capturing Gbagbo last week, but he seems to have used an offer to negotiate as a way to buy time and gather his forces.
Mark Toner, acting deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department, released a statement Saturday echoing that idea.
"It is clear that Gbagbo's attempts at negotiation this week were nothing more than a ruse to regroup and rearm. Gbagbo's continued attempt to force a result that he could not obtain at the ballot box reveals his callous disregard for the welfare of the Ivorian people, who will again suffer amid renewed heavy fighting in Abidjan," he said.
Most areas of the capital, however, are now under U.N. or French military control, journalist Seyi Rhodes reported from the French military base in Port Bouet. The French military has been working to reconnect the disrupted water and electricity supply in the country's main city.
CNN's Jack Maddox contributed to this report.
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