- 8:27 AM
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- 7:40 AM
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British-Nigerian video vixen Jojo Lara born Joanna Olu Ebun Fabikun
has been crowned Miss West Africa UK 2014. The stunning beauty beat out
several other contestants to clinch the crown on Saturday September 6
2014, in London.
This will be JoJo’s second attempt at a beauty pageant. She tried as a contestant in the Miss Universe Britain pageant a few months ago. Sadly, she didn’t win that. But happily, she’s finally wearing a crown as a beauty queen for Miss West Africa UK 2014.
JoJo who happens to be a regular face in the Nigerian music scene as a video vixen has played the principle female lead in two big budget music videos Patoranking’s ‘Girlie O’ and May D’s “So Many Tings”
This will be JoJo’s second attempt at a beauty pageant. She tried as a contestant in the Miss Universe Britain pageant a few months ago. Sadly, she didn’t win that. But happily, she’s finally wearing a crown as a beauty queen for Miss West Africa UK 2014.
JoJo who happens to be a regular face in the Nigerian music scene as a video vixen has played the principle female lead in two big budget music videos Patoranking’s ‘Girlie O’ and May D’s “So Many Tings”
- 6:40 AM
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Post-colonial West Africa
Further information: Decolonisation of Africa
Following World War II, campaigns for independence sprung up across West Africa, most notably in Ghana under the Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah
(1909–1972). After a decade of protests, riots and clashes, French West
Africa voted for autonomy in a 1958 referendum, dividing into the
states of today; most of the British colonies gained autonomy the
following decade. Ghana became the first country of sub-Saharan Africa
to achieve independence in 1957, followed by Guinea under the guidance Sekou Touré the next year.[71] Out of the 17 nations that achieved their independence in 1960, the Year of Africa, nine were West African countries.[71] Many founding fathers of West African nations, like Nkrumah, Touré, Senghor, Modibo Keïta, Sylvanus Olympio, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Siaka Stevens and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, consolidated their power during the post-independence 1960s by gradually eroding democratic institutions and civil society.[72] In 1973, Guinea-Bissau proclaimed its independence from Portugal, and was internationally recognised following the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal.West African political history has been characterised by African socialism. Senghor, Nkrumah and Touré all embraced the idea of African socialism, whereas Houphouët-Boigny and Liberia's William Tubman remained suspicious of it.[73] 1983 saw the rise of socialist Thomas Sankara, often titled the "Che Guevara of Africa", to power in Burkina Faso.[74]
Since independence, West Africa has suffered from the same problems as much of the African continent, particularly dictatorships, political corruption and military coups. At the time of his death in 2005, for example, Togo's Étienne Eyadéma was among the world's longest-ruling dictators. Inter-country conflicts have been few, with Mali and Burkina Faso's nearly bloodless Agacher Strip War being a rare exception.
Post-Colonial civil wars
The region of West Africa has seen a number of civil wars in its recent past including the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), two civil wars in Liberia in 1989 and 1999, a decade of fighting in Sierra Leone from 1991–2002, the Guinea-Bissau Civil War from 1998–1999 and a recent conflict in Côte d'Ivoire that began on 2002 ending 2007 and a second conflict in 2010–11.Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970)
The fall of the first republic left behind apparent political division between North and South Nigeria. This led to the military governor of south-eastern Nigeria, Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, deeming that because of northern massacres and electoral fraud, the Southeast of Nigeria should be an independent state. The independent state became known as the Republic of Biafra.[76]
Northern Nigeria opposed the claim of southern secession. The Nigerian government called for police action in the area. The armed forces of Nigeria were sent in to occupy and take back the Republic of Biafra. Nigerian forces seized Biafra in a series of phases. The phases were, the Capture of Nsukka, the Capture of Ogoja, Capture of Abakaliki, and the Capture of Enugu. All of the perpetrated phases and campaigns were successful due to the advantaged army of Nigeria.[77] By 1970, Biafraian general, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu, fled to the neighboring nation of Côte d'Ivoire. After the flee, Biafra, facing no other option, surrendered due to lack of resources and leadership. Biafra quickly united with the northern Nigeria on 15 January 1970.[78] The conflict is estimated to have killed roughly 1 million people.[79]
First Liberian Civil War (1989–1997)
Main article: First Liberian Civil War
Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003)
Main article: Second Liberian Civil War
Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002)
By 1992 president Joseph Momoh was ousted by a successful military coup lead by Captain Valentine Strasser. Capitan Strasser, soon established multi-party democratic elections in the region.
On 18 January 2002, the civil war was officially ended by former president Kabbah. During the 11 year conflict, roughly 50,000 Sierra Leoneians were killed with 2,000,000 displaced.
Guinea-Bissau Civil War (1998–1999)
On 7 June 1998, a second coup d'état began. The coup once again failed. Soon after, rebels received aid from the neighboring nations of Senegal and Guinea-Conakry.
The conflict sparked a civil war. Many soldiers in the armed forces of Guinea-Bissau joined the side of the rebels. This was in part, due to the soldiers not being paid by the government. The rebels continued to fight from 1998 to 1999. President Vieira was ousted on 7 May 1999. By 10 May 1999, the war ended when President Vieira signed an unconditional surrender in a Portuguese embassy.
Approximately 655 were killed as a result of the conflict.
First Ivorian Civil War (2002-2007)
Main article: First Ivorian Civil War
In the early 2000s, the Ivory Coast
(also known as Côte d'Ivoire) experienced an economic rescission. The
rescission began as a result of the previous economic boom crashing the
economy as a whole. This led to the predominately Muslim north and
predominately Christan south of the Ivory Coast becoming politically
divided.[86]The southern Ivory Coast was in control of the Ivorian government. The north however, was under the power of the rebel movement. The civil war between the two began officially on 19 September 2002 when rebels launched a series of attacks on the south. The city of Abidjan was primarily targeted. Northern rebels were successful in the attacks. As a result of the chaos, president Robert Guéï was killed in the rebellions.[87]
The south retailed with military action. France supported the south and sent 2500 soldiers to the region and called for United Nations action. French action in the area went under the guise and codename of Operation Unicorn.
By 2004 most fighting in the region ceased. On 4 March 2007 the civil war official ended with the signing of a peace treaty.
- 5:50 AM
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The history of West Africa began with the first human settlements around 12,000 BCE.
It has been commonly divided into its prehistory, the Iron Age in
Africa, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and finally
the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed. West Africa is west of an imagined north-south axis lying close to 10° east longitude, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Sahara Desert.
Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between
contemporary West African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural
lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.
Early human settlers arrived in West Africa around 12,000 BCE. In the
fifth millennium, as the ancestors of modern West Africans began
entering the area, the development of sedentary farming began to take
place in West Africa. The Iron industry, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons, appeared in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1200 BCE, and by 400 BCE, contact had been made with the Mediterranean
civilisations, and a regular trade included exporting gold, cotton,
metal, and leather in exchange for copper, horses, salt, textiles, and
beads. Culture developed further with the Nok culture (1000 BCE to 200 or 300 BCE), Serer people's ancient history, and construction of the Senegambian stone circles (between the third century B.C. and the sixteenth century C.E.). The Sahelian kingdoms were a series of kingdoms or empires that were centred on the sahel, the area of grasslands south of the Sahara.
The controlled the trade routes across the desert, and were also quite
decentralised, with member cities having a great deal of autonomy. The Ghana Empire may have been an established as early as the 4th century CE. It was succeeded by the Sosso in 1230, the Mali Empire
in the 13th century CE, and later by the Songhai and Sokoto Caliphate.
There were also a number of forest empires and states in this time
period.
- 5:34 AM
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