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OPINION: Understanding Ethiopia’s Tigray war and the new peace deal

OPINION: Understanding Ethiopia’s Tigray war and the new peace deal

RICHARD ALI FOR BIRD STORY AGENCY THE Ethiopian conflict centred on the Tigray region has concerned African security watchers since November 2020, when the fighting started. Last week, the former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, announced a cessation of hostilities in his capacity as the African Union’s High Representative for the Horn of Africa. This unexpected but welcome development likely will not have been possible without the regional knowledge of Uhuru Kenyatta, former president of Kenya, who serves as Special Peace Envoy for Ethiopia, with Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, South Africa’s former Deputy President, completing the troika. The peace deal represents a fine…
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Mbeki and Obasanjo: case studies in the use of soft power in Africa’s interests

Mbeki and Obasanjo: case studies in the use of soft power in Africa’s interests

THE concept of soft power has been part of the parlance of international relations for three decades. Soft power actors use non-coercive and persuasive means to achieve their objectives. Attraction rather than force is their preferred language. OLUWASEUN TELLA, Senior Researcher, Institute for the Future of Knowledge, University of Johannesburg The application of soft power remains focused on states because of their primacy in international politics. But, the increasing influence of non-state actors dictates a need to review this approach. Non-state actors on the international stage include international organisations, NGOs, multinational corporations, terrorist groups and individuals. It is against this…
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Fear dominates the lives of Nigerians: the consequences are dire

Fear dominates the lives of Nigerians: the consequences are dire

IS Nigeria a failed state? Former president and would-be elder statesman Olusegun Obasanjo seems to think so… well, almost. On October 1, 2020 – the day Nigeria marked 60 years of independence from colonial rule – the former president claimed Nigeria is fast drifting toward a failed and badly divided state… WILLIAM HANSEN, Professor of Politics, American University of Nigeria Of course, Obasanjo’s statement is self-serving. The political class refuses to accept any responsibility for six decades of venal governance. In blaming President Muhammadu Buhari, Obasanjo conveniently ignores his own eight years as president, during which time civilians inherited the…
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