•Entrance of Correctional Centre

A 55-year-old cleric, Nelson Foni, was arraigned at a Kafanchan Magistrates’ Court in Kaduna State on Friday for giving false prophesy and duping a congregant, Edith Emmanuel, of N1.7 million.

The cleric faced a three-count charge of extortion, criminal breach of trust and cheating, punishable by the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.

State counsel, Alheri Daudu, told the court that the congregant and her daughter attended a church programme at Gathsamen Prayer Ministry, Kafanchan, in 2016 where Foni was the General Overseer.

Foni singled out the congregant’s daughter and declared that God revealed to him that she would study abroad and not in Nigeria.

He consequently asked the congregant to invite her husband to the ministry, where he repeated the “revelation’’.

The couple told Foni that they lacked the resources to fund overseas study and he advised that they should raise N1.7m which he would invest in crypto currency on their behalf and they obliged.

The cleric also told the couple that the return on investment in the crypto currency would be more than enough to cover for the daughter’s school fees and flight ticket.

Each time the couple went to Foni to inquire about the return on investment, however, the cleric would browse on his laptop and declare that the investment had not matured.

The matter was reported at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kafanchan.

When the charges were read to Foni, he pleaded not guilty.

His defence counsel, Amba Adze, applied for bail, to which the state counsel objected on the ground that if granted, Foni might defraud more unsuspecting individuals.

In his ruling, presiding Magistrate Michael Bawa granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1million and a surety in like sum.

Bawa ruled that the surety must be a village head with at least N1million deposit in his bank account and must produce the bank statement.

In the alternative, Foni would be remanded at the Kafanchan Correctional Centre pending the next hearing on April 11. (NAN)

Johannesburg — A South African college student was sentenced to prison this week for going on a months-long spending spree with almost a million dollars of student aid dumped into her bank account due to a clerical error. With her hands folded defiantly in court, former second year accounting student Sibongile Mani was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday for stealing the funds from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

A clerical error meant instead of a $96 monthly food allowance being deposited into her account, close to $1 million was transferred on June 1, 2017.

Judge Twanette Olivier found Mani guilty of stealing the funds and slapped her with the prison sentence, and a stunning admonishment.

“You, and yourself, made the decision on June 1, 2017, and you did so repeatedly for 73 consecutive days, numerous times per day,” the judge told Mani in court.

Mani spent close to $1,000 a day on handbags, alcohol and clothing, racking up charges across the country before the fund noticed the error on August 13 and reported her.

Other students from Walter Sisulu University claim they blew the whistle on Mani’s scheme after growing suspicious of the sudden change in her lifestyle. They said she transformed suddenly into a glamorous woman with an expensive weave, a new iPhone and a penchant for expensive whiskey.

The judge said Mani had “malicious intent,” adding that it was remarkable how much money Mani had managed to spend each day at 48 different stores across the country.

Adem K Abebe, University of Pretoria

On the evening of 15 February 2022, reports emerged that key police and military officials in Djibouti were put under house arrest, reportedly amid fears of a coup d’état.

This was the latest in the string of successful and attempted coups in Africa – from Mali to Madagascar and Guinea to the Central African Republic (CAR).

The popularity of some of the coups, combined with the perceived inability of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to stem the tide of democratic reversals and insecurity, has generated a crisis that calls for a fundamental rethinking of the values, role, mandate, capacity and resources of these institutions.

The Djibouti incident came barely 10 days after an AU Heads of State and Government Summit meeting. In its final communique it lamented the “wave” of coups and pervasive insecurity across the continent.

Since its last in-person summit in early 2020 (they met virtually in 2021) there have been successful military coups in Mali (twice), Chad, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Sudan, and attempted coups in Madagascar, CAR, Niger, Guinea Bissau, and possibly in Djibouti.

The continent also witnessed constitutional coups where incumbents manipulated the constitutional framework to extend their terms. This happened in Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire(2020). In Tunisia the incumbent president governs through decrees, without any institutional checks on his power.

Africa has also seen new and expanding conflicts. Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, has been embroiled in a spiral of the largest and deadliest conflict in recent African memory. The AU appointed a special envoy for the Horn of Africa and engaged in ‘quiet diplomacy’, but this is yet to bear any fruit.

In the Sahel, the zone of insecurity – arising from insurgencies and Islamic jihadists – has expanded. It has entrapped and killed thousands, displaced millions, and caused tremendous suffering. In the process the legitimacy and capacity of nascent democratic regimes has been undermined.

And in northern Mozambique, a rebellion rooted in government neglect and sense of dispossession metamorphosed into an Islamist insurgency. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and the country’s security forces have been overwhelmed.

Enduring instability in South Sudan, Libya and Somalia have made little progress. Here too the AU has largely been on the sidelines, despite its military presence in Somalia.

Each of these occurrences has a unique context. Nevertheless, they are broadly linked to a democratic deficit and governments’ inability to deliver either freedom or peace and development. These failure of nominally elected governments has denied leaders – as well as the democratic system – a vanguard popular constituency.

On top of this, the COVID-19 pandemic has decimated the economic gains of the last decade. This has left behind an avalanche of unemployed youth, and worsened the public debt burden of virtually all countries. In turn this has deprived incumbents of economic rents they could deploy to appease the public and co-opt and silence key civilian and military officials.

The structural conditions that have made the coups and insecurity in the various countries possible obtain in a large majority of African countries. Moreover, the successes and apparent popularity of some of the coups have set a precedent that may inspire copycats.

But, an impoverished, insecure and coup-prone Africa is not inevitable. In fact, the continent continues to witness the resilience of democracy in Malawi and Zambia, among other countries.

Addressing the ailments and setting on a path to peace, freedom and sustainable development requires two key things. Firstly, a mental paradigm shift. Secondly, bold moves to accelerate the continent’s economic, security and political integration.

From rejection to introspection

Both the AU and ECOWAS have rejected the military coups. The AU has suspended four countries in a year, the highest since its formation in 2002. For its part ECOWAS is operating without 20% of its membership. Three of its 15 member states suspended. In addition it’s imposed crippling sanctions on Mali following a second coup and failure to agree an acceptable transition timeline.

But the AU hasn’t been wholly consistent. For example, it didn’t suspend Chad after an effective military takeover in the country. Instead, it put preconditions for a relatively quick transition, national dialogue and exclusion of transition leaders from standing for election.

It has remained largely silent on Tunisia too despite anti-democratic developments there.

ECOWAS has been acting according to the books on military coups. Nevertheless it failed to publicly criticise the constitutional coups in Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire.

These inconsistencies have bred accusations of hypocrisy. Some have gone as far as accusing the two institutions of merely serving as protection for their club of incumbents.

If the AU and ECOWAS want to be taken seriously, they must look inwards and stand up for constitutional democracy, regardless of the perpetrators – whether incumbents or men in military fatigue.

And here, they have an opportunity to redeem themselves through some quick wins.

Current presidents of Senegal (Macky Sall) and Benin (Patrice Salon) are serving their second and last terms. Nevertheless, there are concerns that they are resorting to democratically questionable manoeuvres. And that they may even be considering a constitutional manoeuvre to stay in power.

The AU and ECOWAS should proactively engage these leaders and secure public commitments that they will step down after the end of their terms, and continue the nascent legacy of their countries in peaceful alternation of power.

From crisis to opportunity?

The sense of crisis must spur the AU and ECOWAS into action. The ECOWAS Heads of State and Government have tasked the ECOWAS Commission to expedite the process of reviewing the Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. This is a chance to strengthen ECOWAS’ capacity to respond to incumbent constitutional and electoral manipulations. This could include re-tabling the region-wide two term limit on presidents that it abandoned in 2015.

The AU should similarly enhance its capabilities to check unconstitutional changes of government as well as the undemocratic exercise and retention of power.

And it should accelerate its institutional reform drive. Notably, it must work towards boosting the Peace Fund. A well-supported fund would allow the AU to prevent political instability from degenerating into large scale conflict and insurgency.

The experiences of the coordinated responses to the insurgency in northern Mozambique, involving soldiers from the Southern African Development Community and Rwandan forces, could provide an important prototype. This must include measures to address the root causes of governance deficit, exclusion and wanton exploitation of natural resources.

In the long term, the AU, ECOWAS and other regional economic communities should strengthen security and economic integration. This would go some way to ensuring that nascent democracies deliver freedom as well as stability and a steady improvement of peoples’ economic fortunes.

Getting the African Continental Free Trade Area into gear and the protocol on free movement of people implemented is critical.

Regional organisations should also boost their anti-corruption mechanisms and address problems of mismanagement of resources.

Ultimately, the primary responsibility for stability, prosperity and freedom lies at the national level. But if African leaders desire the protection of the AU, ECOWAS and other sub-regional communities, they must strengthen these institutions.

The ambitious mandate and expectations of these institutions must be matched with perquisite tools, power and resources. Incumbent safety may lie in sharing power: horizontally by addressing the curse of winner-takes-all politics at the domestic level through inclusion of the opposition in governance; and vertically by empowering regional and sub-regional organisations.

Africans must, of course, be the masters of their destiny. But external partners such as the United Nations, US and China should support efforts to enhance the continent’s stability and economic progress.

The views and opinions expressed in the article are the sole responsibility of the author and are not endorsed by any of the institutions he is affiliated with.

Adem K Abebe, Extraordinary Lecturer, University of Pretoria

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Christian Ungruhe, University of Passau; James Esson, Loughborough University, and Paul Darby, Ulster University

When Sadio Mané scored the decisive penalty to secure Senegal’s triumph over Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, Isaak, a professional Ghanaian footballer in his late 20s, could not have been further away from the action. Watching the final online in his room in eastern Thailand, Isaak’s thoughts most likely turned to what might have been had he managed to better navigate some critical forks in the road of his football career.

Isaak is one of several dozen African players we interviewed for our new book African Football Migration. Their experiences and trajectories reflect the reality of life for the majority of African footballers who aspire to successful careers overseas – but frequently labour far beyond the bright lights of the elite game enjoyed by icons like Mané.

Football migration

Migration has long been an important livelihood strategy in many African countries. Migrating through football has more recently come to be viewed by increasing numbers of young people as a viable route to significantly improving their life chances.

This trend is a consequence of multiple intersecting factors, ranging from economic precarity, a declining faith in education and a weak local football industry. The commercialisation of football economies in Europe and some Asian countries over the last 30 years has made them prized destinations for aspiring African migrant footballers.

Thousands of African talents have tried to follow in the footsteps of iconic footballers such as Michael Essien, Samuel Eto’o, Mané and Mohamed Salah. However, for most the chance of succeeding is minimal.

Our ethnographic fieldwork in Africa, Europe and South-East Asia alongside numerous conversations with young footballers, parents, coaches, club owners and intermediaries reveals the precarious structures and career trajectories that characterise African football migration. How these young players navigate uncertainty and failure as they try to make it big overseas is reflected in Isaak’s story.

Isaak’s story

Isaak’s prospects looked hopeful at first. In 2012, he was a talented midfielder playing for Ghana’s national U-17 team, the Black Starlets. This enhanced his visibility and the chance of a contract with a club abroad. Through the Black Starlets he encountered a Ghanaian footballer and player agent based in Thailand, who promised him trials with professional clubs in the South-East Asian country.

Isaak believed this would be a stepping stone to a prestigious league in Europe, despite having no prior knowledge of Thailand or its football industry. He was reassured by his agent that necessary arrangements and logistics had been taken care of. All that was required was for him to reimburse the agent for his initial financial outlay and services once he signed for a Thai club.

Isaak’s parents and elder brother were supportive, seeing an opportunity to secure the family’s livelihood. Shortly after the Thai authorities issued a three-month tourist visa, Isaak boarded a plane to Bangkok with six other Ghanaian players promised similar deals. The agent picked them up from the airport and brought them to their rented accommodation. It soon became clear the promised trials had not been organised. As Isaak saw it:

Everything was a lie … Seven players in a small room. No windows, no air condition(ing), nothing. I was the youngest, so I had to sleep on the floor … There was nowhere to go, so we stayed in the room all day. At times, no food for me for the whole day … I was really suffering.

Precarious trajectories

This sort of experience is not uncommon among migrating African footballers. Many encounter fraud, disillusionment, racism and economic hardship as they pursue a professional contract in South-East Asia, Europe or elsewhere. A litany of media reports detailing instances of trafficking and exploitation attests to this.

However, despite their struggles, African migrant players, including Isaak, rarely give up on their dream. Rather, they retain a belief that hard work, talent, luck, persistence and for some, divine intervention, will secure their and their family’s futures.

Ten years after his move to Thailand, Isaak remained in the game. He had established himself in the lower reaches of the Thai game, playing for various clubs in third- and fourth-tier divisions. His career continued to be highly precarious and uncertain. Contracts were always short-term and his salary just enough to get by and occasionally send some money home.

In 2020/21 COVID-19 resulted in the termination of his contract. Nonetheless, Isaak continued to view his career as a launching pad for Europe. A route to social mobility was restored with a new contract after the recommencement of Thailand’s third division. Like so many other African migrant footballers, Isaak will likely continue to labour and invest his physical capital in pursuit of a dream that’s unlikely to be realised.

A persistent dream

It is these intersecting aspirations, experiences and trajectories in the life courses of young African males that we unpack in African Football Migration. The book illustrates that the ability to navigate an unpredictable, highly competitive and commercialised industry is a key asset for African players. An embodied belief in their abilities to succeed and the need to make their migration project valuable for themselves and others frequently mitigates the disillusionment and setbacks faced abroad. Staying in the game and keeping the hope of ‘making it’ alive gives meaning to their struggle, regardless of how precarious it may be.

In the context of global inequality and restrictive migration regimes, it is likely that young African footballers will continue to see a career in the professional game overseas as a viable future path.

Our book reveals they are well aware of the pitfalls, barriers and imponderables that characterise this path. However, they press on regardless, exhibiting remarkable creativity and resilience as they cultivate a dream to follow in the footsteps of Sadio Mané and others who ‘made it’ against all odds.

Christian Ungruhe, Research fellow, University of Passau; James Esson, Reader in Human Geography, Loughborough University, and Paul Darby, Reader in Sport & Exercise, Ulster University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.