20022021 - INSECURITY Give us state police now - Govs

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 20, 2021—25
Abefe has finally been dislodged from
her exalted position as the Queen of
the Manor. The one who reigned
supreme until the most brutal and unkind
dethronement recently, as the official
matriarch of the family, has been pushed off
the top of the ladder. In the most intriguing
and damning manner, Abefe is no longer
the one to be referred to as “Madam” by all.
She can no longer determine who gets what
and when it is due to them, of her husband’s
wealth and connections. No more is she the
woman to whom all the PR and patronages
for oga’s favours must be deposited. For, at
the height of her reign, you might not be
able to see oga, either at home or in the office
without her consent. As the official Mrs., She
attended all the social and official functions,
even registering her presence with or without
her husband in tow. As “Emi-oga”, Abefe
was the all in all of the title and all it entails.
But like a flash of lightning, Abefe’s world
had come crashing down all around her. In
a twinkle of an eye, everything she had come
to identify as her own, right or wrong was
snatched from her, leaving her in a state of
shock and bewilderment. As the reality of
what has transpired right before her eyes
dawned on Abefe, the once exalted queen of
the manor, has found herself desolate, alone
and bereft of the will to live. For without her
king, she is nought. Now, weeks after, Abefe
looks like one in mourning, only that the
one for whom she mourns is still alive, hale
and hearty but lost to her now cold arms.
Her king has acquired a new queen. This
one, much younger, more beautiful and
classy, better educated, exotic to behold, soft
to the touch, above all, is still very flexible at
the joints and knows how to tickle the king’s
fanny, such that Abefe is no longer top on his
list of pleasure items. Abefe no longer gave
him the kind of pleasures this younger,
beautiful arm candy does. Yes, she made him
feel young, needed as a child needs her
loving daddy to care for her. The young
Yetunde Arebi
The fall of Abefe’s
kingdom
lady’s hopes, safety and happiness depends
of Abefe’s king and he was going to give her
his cover, openly and officially. Only Abefe
could come against his wishes and he was
prepared to sacrifice her
and all they’d shared in
over 20 years. The die was
cast. Abefe just had to take
the fall, so he could move
on with his quest for the
desires of the heart and the
pleasures on the loins.
Abefe, now thrown from
grace to grace battles with
humiliation, her pride and
honour snatched away, she
desires nothing except for
the ground to open up and
swallow her. She thinks
that death is better than the
shame she is going
through. Better than the
segregation she will suffer
from the circle of honoured
For in Nigeria,
you only need to
have the right
connection and
not necessarily
what good you
have to offer
Stanford Wives’
Association. Better that the
exclusion from creme de la
creme of high society
parties and functions. Yeah, better than being
subject to the questioning gazes of people
once regarded as friends, trying to figure
out if all she’d been accused of are indeed
true. And better than stand by, out in the
cold, to watch as a little slip of a girl mount
her throne to fit perfectly into her shoes.
Had anyone informed Abefe that her
throne was under threat by another
devouring female a couple of years back,
she would have scorned it
off as anyone as sure of her
position ought to. For Abefe
was sure that her king had
reached his final destination
in the journey of life and love.
At close to three scores and
ten, was there anything
extraordinary to be
searching for on the love
track? All he needed was
some stability in his life to
enable him enjoy his wealth
and status in society. So, with
respect, she’d ‘mummied’
him into boredom, packing
his lunch and cleaning his
mess after him in silence. For
her king did mess up a lot,
not sparing maids and
nieces in the trail of his
rampaging libido. All these
she’d endured for the sake
of the throne, dragging her
family along on the journey of emotional
and sexual abuse. A sacrifice now in vain.
However, Abefe is not as innocent as she
appears. Nay, Abefe has only fallen by the
sword she’d once wielded against another
as herself. She has only been given a dose
Twitter: @yetundearebi
yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk
08054700825
of her own medicine, only this time, a more
potent brand. For Abefe was not the first
queen to mount the throne of honour as Mrs.
Her king once had a Queen with whom he’d
started life’s journey back in their rustic
village. She was once his girl in the days of
their youth, back in the dark ages when
neither of them knew not what laid ahead.
She later became his woman and finally
wife with whom he bore four blessed
children, male and female of equal
numbers. Together, they’d struggled to
raise their young family, created wealth and
dreamt of the good life happily ever after.
The good life did come. For in Nigeria,
you only need to have the right connection
and not necessarily what good you have to
offer.
The connections bought positions, power
and wealth. Alas, it also brought along pain.
Abefe was one of the women who walked
into the palace another had built with her
sweat and blood and quickly decided to
covet it for herself. Smitten with her beauty,
youth and social lifestyle, a once devoted
lover, husband and father soon became
estranged from the wife of his youth, and a
stranger to his helpless children. He found
every reason in the book to convince their
family and friends that his once best friend
had become an enemy who wished him no
good. The queen went from pillar to post,
deploring missiles and emissaries to her aid
in a bid to secure her palace. Only, it was
too late.
Abefe’s wiles were too sophisticated to be
ignored and the king’s heart had been
captured. Thus, Abefe reigned for over 20
years after the banishment of the first queen.
It is now Abefe’s turn to be banished from
the palace. This time, in a more vicious and
well articulated plot. Abefe was led out of
the palace in handcuffs on trumped up
charges of attempted murder of the king.
What a world! Let him that thinks he stands,
take heed.
Do have a wonderful weekend!!
OKONJO-IWEALA: Hope rises for global
trade accord
By Victoria Ojeme
Prior to Monday’s announcement of
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new Di
rector-General of the World Trade Organisation,
it was not clear who would be the
next DG following the impasse orchestrated
by former U.S President, Donald Trump’s administration
decision not to support the election
of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
While Okonjo secured the support of 110 of
the 164 member countries and was set to defeat
South Korea’s trade minister, Yoo Myunghee
at the final stage of the race on October
28th, the United States opposed her candidacy.
However, things took a new turn after Yoo
Myung-Hee of South Korea, withdrew from
the race, leaving just Okonjo-Iweala as the sole
candidate.
Okonjo-Iweala, was appointed the head of
WTO by representatives of the 164 member
countries, according to a statement from the
body.
The appointment came after new U.S. President
Joe Biden endorsed her candidacy, which
had been blocked by Trump.
Biden’s move was a step toward his aim of
supporting more cooperative approaches to
international problems after Trump’s “America
first” approach that launched multiple
trade disputes.
Okonjo-Iweala is actively involved in mobilizing
financial support in the fight against
COVID-19 as African Union’s (AU) Special
Envoy and a Special Envoy to mobilize International
Health Organization’s Access to
COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.
According to Wendy Cutler, the Vice President
of the Asia Society Policy Institute, Washington
DC, “by lifting the US reservation on
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for director-general, Joe
Biden stands to gain immediate international
goodwill.”
The WTO’s decline accelerated dramatically
over the past four years, with the United States
retreating from leadership, the US–China trade
war spilling over to Geneva, and the many
excessive trade restrictions imposed worldwide
through the COVID-19 crisis. With Director-
General Roberto Azevedo’s early departure,
the WTO leadership transition has since been
less than smooth, with no one serving in an
•Okonjo-Iweala
acting capacity and the United States blocking
consensus on a new director-general.
There are still glimmers of hope. Middle
powers have undertaken important work, such
as the recent statement on trade and health
issued by Canada, the European Union, Japan,
Australia and others. Biden has also emphasised
the importance of working with allies
and partners and through international
organisations to achieve US foreign and economic
policy objectives. And it is hoped that
Okonjo-Iweala’s selection will set Nigeria
ahead in the International community.
Okonjo-Iweala has emphasised her experience
fighting COVID-19 as her strong suit. As
head of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunizations (GAVI) she understands the
importance of open trade so that vital supplies
can get to where they are needed.
During her campaign, she promised to empower
the WTO’s secretariat. Some analysts
say that could be controversial as some members
will resist what they see as a threat to their
power over negotiations. But it could also help
poorer countries, some of which lack the capacity
to draft proposals on their own, making
it hard to participate in talks. Her political
clout will be useful too. If the problems of the
global trading system were purely technical,
“they would have been solved long ago”, she
told members in July.
The Economist suggests that Okonjo-Iweala’s
success would also say something about
the geopolitics of trade. China rejected Ms
Myung-hee which allows it to keep its deputydirector-general
spot. (Historically, jobs have
been divvied up among regions.) Japan’s nasty
trade dispute with South Korea makes it
unlikely to support Ms Myung-hee. Brazil, a
big exporter of farm products, may have been
put off by South Korea’s membership of the
G10 group of countries, which staunchly defends
agricultural subsidies. Indeed, the agreement
on the next director-general was born
from a host of disagreements.
Former colleagues of Okonjo-Iweala
also believe she is
well-suited for the position.
“Ngozi is one of the most qualified
people for that particular
post she vied for. So I wish her
well in terms of the final decision,”
Dr. Shamsudeen Usman,
a former minister of national
planning, told DW.
Okonjo-Iweala and Usman
had served alongside each other
as ministers under Nigerian
President Goodluck Jonathan
in 2011. Before taking up the
Cabinet portfolio, Okonjo-
Iweala had resigned at the
World Bank, where she served
for 25 years.
An internal memo, addressed
to World Bank employees on
July 8, 2011, seen by DW, notes
that Okonjo-Iweala had played an exceptional
role there. Bob Zoellick, the World Bank’s
president at the time, wrote that her contribution
had been stellar.
“Along with her oversight of the bank’s work
in Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia,
and Human Resources, Ngozi has played a
pivotal role in overseeing the Bank’s work to
help countries hurt by high and volatile food
prices,” Zoellick wrote in the memo. “As you
are aware, with Ngozi’s leadership, we put together
a food crisis response fund to allow for
fast assistance to countries in need. It has helped
more than 40 million people in 44 countries.”
“I know that she will discharge her duties
very well as she has done in a lot of jobs she has
held before,” Usman said of his former colleague.
Okonjo-Iweala will have her work cut out
for her particularly in terms of the ongoing
dispute between the US and China. She will
become the first African and the first woman
The appointment
came after new
U.S. President Joe
Biden endorsed
her candidacy,
which had been
blocked by Trump
to hold the top position at the WTO.
“I see her appointment as a validation of
African women’s competency and leadership
skills, and of African women’s excelling despite
the systematic hurdles and obstacles facing
them,” Fadumo Dayib, the first female
Somali presidential candidate, told DW.
Dayib added that the choice of Okonjo-Iweala
is a sign that “the tide is turning in favour of
competent women and it’s about time that
happened.”
Nigerian economist Tunji Andrews agrees
with Dayib. He says the international community
has finally realized that Africans can sit at
the table with global powers.
“Many people across the world will start to
say, let’s put more Africans in such roles, not
just roles of peacekeeping, but roles of intellectual
capacity and roles of pedigree.”
Although Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
will make history by becoming
the first female and black African
to lead WTO, Amara Nwankpa
says his fellow Nigerian brings
more than just “diversity and inclusion”
to the world stage.
“I’m optimistic that her impact
on global trade will be positive,
given that her antecedents suggest
that she’s passionately committed
to reducing inequality, poverty,
and corruption across the
world,” Nwankpa, director of
Public Policy Initiative at Shehu
Musa Yar’Adua Foundation,
a Nigerian nonprofit that is
committed to promoting national
unity and good governance,
told DW.
During her second term as finance minister,
Okonjo-Iweala was “credited with developing
reform programs that helped improve
governmental transparency and stabilize
the economy,” according to the US business
magazine Forbes, which ranked her No.
48 in the world’s top 50 “Power Women” in
2015.
The Harvard-educated economist holds
a Ph.D. from MIT and chairs the Gavi
board, a global vaccine alliance instrumental
in ensuring that developing countries
have much-needed access to COV-
ID-19 vaccines.
Nwankpa says her background shows
that “she brings to this job impressive skills
in international negotiations and leadership
capacity to confront the key challenges currently
facing the planet.”
“She’s exactly the person that the world needs
at the helm of international trade in these turbulent
times,” he added.