African press review 8 June 2016
Nigeria scales down military operations against the Niger Delta "avengers" after crisis talks with governors of the oil-rich region. Meanwhile, a top Nigerian economist warns of recession as sabotage attacks half the country's oil revenue.
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The principal focus of Nigerian papers today is the move by acting President Yemi Osinbajo to scale down military presence in the Niger Delta region.
ThisDay newspaper reports that Osinbajo announced the decision after holding crisis talks with the governors of oil producing States.
According to ThisDay, the parties however, resolved at the meeting to maintain the military's presence in the waterways to provide security against "social miscreants and criminals that had made the routes unsafe for socio-economic activities".
ThisDay also claims that the high level meeting followed a US statement expressing concern over the escalation of violence in the Niger Delta region, and urging a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
According to the publication, acting President Osinbajo probably reacted after receiving reports about the "military's heavy-handed response" to renewed attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta region.
The paper argues that "threats by the so-called Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, to bomb major government buildings in Abuja starting midnight today", probably gave a sense of urgency to Osinbajo's decision.
The paper also suggests that the move may have been made to calm down tensions after the Navy's paraded a man named as the co-ordinator of the sabotage operations against oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta.
For its part, Punch commends the message of peace and reconciliation delivered at the meeting,focusing on remarks to the press by Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole that despite the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers, “Nigeria is not at war and cannot be at war with itself."
The Nation highlights warnings by a top financial analyst that the country's economy is inching towards recession. Bismarck Rewane, who heads the respected Financial Derivatives Company, told the Nation that monthly oil revenues had dipped from $1.2 billion earlier in the year to $500 million, noting that the development could trigger an external and balance of payment crisis.
According to Rewane, net foreign direct investment in Nigeria was down to $1.5 billion representing 6.25 per cent. The Nation quotes the economist as saying that "budget delays and squabbles, expose Nigeria's economy to looming policy reversals and ideological backsliding with possible devastating consequences".
Finally, the Johannesburg publication publishes excerpts of a study by Amnesty International revealing the horrors faced by Albinos in Malawi. According to the report, at least 18 Albinos have been murdered in the country since the end of 2014.
The study found out that the ritual killings were committed by people who beleive that "Albinos have gold in their bones".
The Mail and Guardian reports that Malawi police arrested 39 people "stealing bones out of graves or found in the possession of bones or other body parts taken from corpses". The publication says another 70 crimes committed against Albinos in Malawi since November 2014, citing the Amnesty report.
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