Imagine you embarked on a journey! Yes, on a journey without knowing your destination! It would be a mere aimless journey, wouldn’t it? Envisage a situation, where you want to change your life, yet you do not actually know what exactly you want to change. Definitely, life can be fruitless and perhaps, dangerous a mission, if one does not know what they want. Sadly, unless you are able to know or identify your wishes in life, you definitely may…
The political abracadabra in Nigeria is taking another interesting dimension, this time, reaching a feverish height, following the massive defection of 15 senators from the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The defections of 15 senators from the governing APC followed the police attempt this morning, to block the Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu from leaving their houses. What makes the police action very ironic is the fact…
Mesut Özil, the talented Arsenal midfielder has decided he would no longer play international football for Germany. The 29-year-old Özil, who made his decision known some hours ago, in a lengthy statement, blamed his decision on the way he claimed he was treated by the German Football Association (DFB), following unexpected Germany’s early exit in the just concluded World Cup. The German footballer alleged that the DFB blamed him for the terrible performance of the German team. To him,…
Life is full of opportunities and choices. If you make a good choice, you reap the profits; however, if your choice is bad, you bear the consequences. More often than not, we have opportunities to positively change our lives and those of others. Think of our educational, political, relationship choices. A wrong decision could drastically lead to unbearable hardship or even destroy lives altogether. Have you really taken into consideration the quality and acumen of the candidates you want…
On 20 July 2018, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to postpone the commencement of the confirmation hearing in the case The Prosecutor v. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud to 6 May 2019. The hearing was initially scheduled to take place on 24 September 2018. Having considered the submissions and requests of the parties, as well as a number of factors, including the time required for the disclosure of evidence to the Defence and…
The recent promise by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir to accept a peace deal, which would end years of civil war in the world’s youngest country has been received with cautious optimism, to say the least. To many, there is little reason for jubilation over the statement of the President or his rival Riek Machar, if their past empty promises are anything to go by. Since becoming the youngest country in the world, South Sudan has plunged into a…
On 16 and 17 July 2018, an event was held at the headquarters of International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”), in The Hague, The Netherlands, to mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the ICC. High-level representatives of more than 30 States in attendance included the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representatives of national Senates and Parliaments, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice, as well as officials of international and regional…
According to the new UN population report, the population of the world stands presently at 7.6 billion people. In the year 2050, it is expected that about 2.2 billion more people worldwide, will be added to this figure, making the world’s population close to 9.8 billion people in the next 32 years. Presently, Africa has a population of 1.2 billion. However, by 2050, this figure is believed to increase by almost 60%, adding more 1.3 billion people to the…
Ideally, the aim of occupying a political position is to use it to bring about meaningful and positive changes in the lives of others, including, but not limited to providing much needed social services to the populace. Sadly, many a leader in Africa and other places, have rather used their political position to not only enrich themselves but cause unimaginable hardship to others. The result is that, in most cases, when these leaders have left the political territory, their…
Conflict is the mother of animosity, distrust, fear, violence, disunity, economic and social short nemesis and negligence. Apart from women and children, who are often victims of unspeakable atrocities, widespread trauma, such as extensive emotional and psychological stress and a decrease in the civilian population are some of the consequences of war. Many have experienced these unfortunate mayhems in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and so…
6 July 2018 Mr. Chair, Esteemed Members of the United Nations Security Council, And Representatives of the wider United Nations membership, President of the Assembly of States Parties, and other distinguished co-briefers, Ladies and Gentlemen, Introduction Allow me at the outset to express my gratitude to the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the co-sponsoring States Parties of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”) on the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC” or the…
On 4 July 2018, the judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”) issued a second warrant of arrest for Mr. Al-Werfalli, a commander in the Al-Saiqa Brigade, based in Benghazi, Libya. In August 2017, the judges of the ICC found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Al-Werfalli is responsible for 7 separate rounds of executions, in which a total of 33 people were murdered, and issued a warrant of arrest against…