UP Ibalon Bicol: Nigeria

Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts

Islamic sectarian violence in Nigeria

7/30/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

In the past few days, heavy fighting in the northeastern part of Nigeria raged as sectarian violence erupted leading to the burning of houses and death of hundreds of people.

Government troops are battling Islamic militants headed by a radical cleric and forcing thousands people to escape to avoid the chaos. Reacting to the disturbance which left many dead on the streets, the president of Nigeria Umaru Yar'Adua says the situation is under control.

“The violence, which the authorities said began with an attack on a police station in the town of Bauchi on Sunday that left at least 39 people dead, quickly spread across four states in a heavily Muslim region long troubled by religious unrest. In this instance it appeared to have been led by an obscure fundamentalist opposed to what the authorities call “Western education.”---New York Times/ AFP (07/28/09, Nossiter, A.)

Nigeria is populated by about 140 million composed of 50% Muslims mostly in the North and 50% Christians in the South. Since the imposition of strict Muslim Shariah law in 12 northern states a decade ago after years of military rule, about 10,000 died in the ensuing religious conflict. Extremists allied with the Muslim radicals wage war against western education.

An analyst believes the root cause of the problem is the severe economic difficulties rocking the area. In spite of richness in oil and fuel reserves of Nigeria, unemployment and hunger are prevalent.

According to the World Health, 54% of Nigerians subsist in less than $1 per day budget. The people are frustrated with the government for the lack of electricity, water, healthcare and other basic human services. (Photo Credit: AFP/graphicis; AFP/ Utomi Ekepei) =0=

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Labels: Africa, ethnic unrest, Islamic militants, killings, Nigeria, poverty, Totie Mesia, unemployment

Hunger in the Philippines

11/05/2008 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

Listed in decreasing order of countries with hunger problem, the Philippines (40%) ranked 5th with Cameroon (55%,) Pakistan (53%,) Nigeria (48%,) Peru (42%,) topping the list. For lack of food, 4 out of 10 households (40%) or about 35 million Filipinos face hunger. The finding is worse but consistent with Manila’s Social Weather Stations poll (SWS) showing that the average hunger for 2008 is about 16.8%.

Regardless of the surveys' accuracy what is important is to recognize the need to solve the worsening poverty, malnutrition, and food deprivation in the country. Bulacan Bishop Jose Oliveros of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said:

"Granted the survey holds true, the government should make concrete pro-poor programs to make sure every household gets enough nutritious food to feed their family" GMA TV News (11/05/08)

Oliveros blame corruption, not overpopulation as the main cause of rampant hunger. It is most severe in Metro Manila where 500,000 families suffer lack of food. He asks the government to put up programs like providing employment to the poor so that “ramdam ang gutom” reverses into “ramdam ang kaunlaran.” (Photo Credit: Jaridaking) =0=

Labels: Bishop Jose Oliveros, Cameroon, Corruption, food, hunger, malnutrition, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, poverty, social

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Islamic sectarian violence in Nigeria

Hunger in the Philippines

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