Arcadia Foundation

Following an impassioned presentation at the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce, His Excellency Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu expressed concern over U.S. Consular General Jeffery Hawkins´ recent remarks on media freedoms in Nigeria.

While hosting a luncheon at the Frankfurt Hilton attended by international delegates on the role of social equality as a pillar of stability in Africa, Dr. Kalu offered words of insight as to the central role freedom of expression plays not simply in depolarizing media and fostering trust but as a tenet of true democracy and a hallmark of any nation´s trajectory.

“The fundamental freedom to voice one´s opinion without persecution or
consequence is not a luxury to be granted but a human right in any modern society. I urge President Jonathan to heed Consular General Hawkins´ concerns as Nigeria cannot afford to further stifle the open sharing of ideas and with it, its own political process”.

Such criticism from international bodies does not arrive unwarranted. Select state and nonstate actors in-country and in the Nigerian Diaspora have often aimed to suppress and distort political criticism for personal benefit.
Journalists have been targeted, arrested and disciplined for their investigations and insight, creating a climate of distrust and moreover, allowing for the prevalent spread of misinformation. Freedom House notably reported that more than 30 attacks on press liberty in the period leading up to the April 2011 presidential, legislative, and gubernatorial elections occurred, often leading to correspondents being detained without judicial or legal
authorization.

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The following originally appeared in the Times of London:

Jihadi terrorism is still alive and, as events in Mali and Algeria show us, poses a direct threat to us. The turmoil in North Africa reminds us that jihadism has no boundaries and that when confronting terrorism it is always better to prevent it rather than deal with its consequences. The EU, however, sometimes refuses to face the reality of terrorism. One strong case in point is Hezbollah.

In July last year a bus full of Israeli tourists was blown to pieces by a young suicide bomber in Burgas, Bulgaria — five Israelis and the Bulgarian bus driver were killed. All the evidence points to it being a plot conceived and executed by Hezbollah.

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Europe and America are trying to ignore the Syrian conflict. That is a dangerous complacency. Quite apart from the humanitarian issues at stake, there are huge risks that the country’s chemical weapons arsenal falls into the wrong hands.

The following was originally published in the Huffington Post UK, penned by Leo Cendrowicz  -

The civil war in Syria is a curious affair for the West. Although Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is the most brutal dictator in the region, outside support for the uprising has been muted. But there are other reasons to pay attention to Syria, and they are being strangely played down: the country is sitting on some of the largest chemical weapon stocks in the world.

Syria is thought to have up to 2,500 tonnes of sarin, mustard gas and other chemical weapons stocked in various depots across the country. Cornered and desperate, Assad could resort to them, although insists he insists he would never use them against opponents in Syria.

Horrible though that would be, the West should worry about even direr scenario. It is that the rebels succeed, Assad falls, and the chemical arsenal falls into the hands of extremists from Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to Al Qaeda.

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