International News
Blinken To Meet Key West African Presidents To Rally Support
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday (today) meets the presidents of Nigeria and Ivory Coast in a bid to forge a united front with key African democracies as crises engulf the world.
In Abidjan, Blinken will meet Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, a veteran leader who has won US praise for consolidating democracy, before heading to Abuja to see Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, elected last year on a platform of economic reforms.
The two West Africa powers, one English-speaking and one French-speaking, have largely stood by the United States despite unease in much of the continent over the Western focus on arming Ukraine and, more recently, US support for Israel in its war with Hamas.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and Ivory Coast — as well as Kenya in East Africa — joined the United States in a United Nations vote in 2022 to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Their stance stands in contrast with another heavyweight, South Africa, which the United States has accused of allowing arms shipments to Russia and which most recently annoyed Washington by bringing a genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice.
Blinken will not travel to South Africa on the trip but he will visit Angola, which has transitioned from war to democracy and played a vital role mediating to end unrest in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
And on Monday, he stopped in Cape Verde, a long-standing partner of the United States.
Blinken has sought to showcase a softer side during his trip.
On Monday, he attended a critical football game in the Africa Cup of Nations between Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea, when his hosts gifted him an Ivorian orange jersey bearing his name.
Visiting a port in Cape Verde’s capital Praia that was expanded through US assistance, Blinken said the United States was “all in” for Africa.
“We see Africa as an essential, critical, central part of our future,” Blinken said.
Yet US President Joe Biden failed to live up to a promise, made to African leaders who visited Washington in late 2022, to travel to the continent in 2023.
Seeking partners
Blinken, who has been occupied by the Middle East crisis, is making his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa in 10 months.
On his last visit to the region, Blinken travelled to Niger to bolster the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
Four months later, the army deposed Bazoum.
The coup leaders threw out troops from former colonial power France but have allowed the presence of some 1,000 US troops, who use Niger’s desert as a base for drones in the fight against jihadists.
The coup leaders, however, have also moved closer to Russia, whose ruthless Wagner mercenaries are already involved in Mali, Central African Republic and, allegedly, Burkina Faso.
Ivory Coast and Nigeria have been outspoken in opposing Niger’s coup, with Ouattara musing about the possibility of military intervention.
Ouattara has won praise for his own efforts to stop the spread of insurgency to northern Ivory Coast, including economic support to give opportunities to young people.
The approach is in line with that of the Biden administration, which has called for a less military-first approach to the Sahel region after a decade of warfare backed by France to hunt down jihadists.
Nigeria’s Tinubu met Biden in September on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in India, but Blinken’s visit marks the most extensive high-level US interaction with him.
Tinubu’s national security advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, recently visited Washington and later attended a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Ukraine’s “peace formula”.
The United States has welcomed Tinubu’s call for an inquiry after a recent Nigerian army drone strike killed 85 civilians by mistake.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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