WAR IN DARFUR OVER - AL BASHIR

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir says the seven-year conflict in his country's Darfur region is over.

Speaking in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher Wednesday, Mr. Bashir said the war and the crisis in Darfur are "finished," and that a war for development has begun. (READ MORE)

NIGER'S MILITARY NAMES CIVILIAN AS INTERIM PRIME MINISTER

The junta which overthrew Niger's president and seized power last week has appointed a civilian to be prime minister until new elections are held. (READ MORE)

FORMER LIBERIAN WARLORD LEADER GOES BEFORE A U.S. JUDGE WEDNESDAY

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says U.S. will not be a safe haven for those who committed crimes in their home countries (READ MORE)

SOLDIERS TO GOVERN NIGER UNTIL NEW CONSTITUTION

Niger's new military leaders say they will run the country until politicians agree on a new constitution.  The army took power last week in a coup against President Mamadou Tandja. (READ MORE)

AFRICANS SUE WAL-MART FOR EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Ten hardworking employees, immigrants from West Africa, are embroiled in a labor dispute with their former employer, Wal-Mart. The men filed a group lawsuit for discrimination claiming that they were dismissed because their supervisors prefer to give their jobs to local people working at a store in Avon, Colorado.  (READ MORE)

OBASANJO'S TRANSGRESSIONS AGAINST NIGERIA AND NIGERIANS

A savaging debate has erupted in Nigeria over statements made by the former president of the country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, regarding his recent call on Nigeria's very seriously ill President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to resign as president of the country.  Obasanjo was quoted as saying, with regards to Yar'Adua, "If you cannot satisfy yourself, how can you satisfy your family or a nation? And if you cannot satisfy a nation, you can resign, which serves as part of morality, dignity and honour."  Most Nigerians view Obasanjo's populist call, as it reflects the opinion of the majority of Nigerians, as a caculated attempt to mask his greatest transgressions against the Nigerian state and Nigerians: forcing and foisting a very sick individual as President of NigeriA.

The crisis that has engulfed Nigeria is of Obasanjo's making.  (READ MORE)

It is no longer news that that on December 25, 2009, a Northern Nigerian Muslim by the name of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was apprehended for attempting to blow up a US bound airliner with about 300 people on board. Before the aforementioned incident over 140 million Nigerians have been unfairly labeled or stereotyped as either fraudsters, drug dealers, corrupt, or such, and many have vehemently fought to correct the wrong impression. (READ MORE)

A COMEDY OF 'WHO'LL BE ALLOWED TO SEE NIGERIA'S VERY SICK PRESIDENT' HAS DEVELOPED WITH SUCCESSIVE DELEGATES REFUSED ACCESS TO HIM IN SAUDI ARABIA

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of Nigeria, before and now

A comedy has developed in Nigeria as to who would be allowed to see Nigeria's very sick President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who has been in a Saudi Arabia hospital, since November 25, 2009.  His earlier and continued refusal to transmit a letter of his medical leave to the Nigerian National Assembly (House and Senate) had created a constitutional crisis until last week when the Assembly decided to pass a bill mandating Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President.

First, the National Assembly decided last two weeks ago to send a delegation to ascertain the health of Yar'Adua.  They got to Jeddah, but was told that King Faisal of Saudi Arabia had denied them access to visit their ailing president.  In other words, it was the Saudi Monarch who is now dictating to Nigerians who would be seeing their President.  The delegation crawled badk to the Nigeria.  They are yet to report.

As if this humiliation was not enough, the political that elected Yar'Adua to office, decided they could do better, after all they put him in office.  The party sent its own delegation, led by the chairman of the party, Chief Ogbulafor, and they were also humiliated by refusal to see the President, which has led Nigerians to begin to speculate whether their President is really still alive.

Now, the Federal Executive Council, which is charged with determining, according to the Nigerian constitution whether Yar'Adua is still fit for office or not, an action they have continued to postpone taking, has now decided to send its own delegation. 

So, the question is who will win the battle of being granted access to see the President: the legislators, the political party delegation, or the cabinet ministers?  It will be a big bragging right for the winner.  After all, Yar'Adua couldn't have considered all the others important, or the Saudi King, otherwise he would have allowed them to see the President.

Oh, did I forget that three northern Governors had also flown to Jeddah, but were also turned back.  Mind you, Umaru Yar'Adua was one of these governors before he became President.  You would have thought he would accord them a gubertorial courtesy?

The question really is:

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Dead or Alive?

If he is alive, why this cloack of secrecy about not allowing the people who elected him to see him?  If he has chosen the Saudi King to be his father figure or his God/Allah to guard him, then the decent thing to do is for him to resign as President of Nigeria, and live permanently in Saudi Arabia.

If you have any comments on this thorny issue in Nigeria, go here.

GOVERNOR PATERSON OF NY, ONLY ONE OF TWO BLACK GOVERNORS IN US, QUITS 2010 RACE DUE TO SCANDAL

NEW YORK – Less than a week after declaring he would seek a full four-year term, New York Gov. David Paterson abruptly dropped his election bid Friday under pressure from Democrats concerned about his faltering agenda and criticism of his handling of a domestic abuse case involving a trusted aide.

At a news conference, Paterson cited an accumulation of distractions that prompted him to end his campaign, but said he had never abused his office.(READ MORE)

AKON: LADY GAGA MADE ME RICH

LOS ANGELES — Sure, Akon has a new album coming out this year. But thanks to Lady Gaga, he doesn't really need it – financially at least.

"She's pretty much retired me," the singer said of Gaga, who is signed to his KonLive imprint at Interscope Records. "She was definitely a blessing. She came at the right moment. I'm glad I believed in her, boy. That goes to show you, if you believe in something strong enough, it will pay off." (READ MORE) 

NIGERIAN '419' SCAM MAKES A BIG COMEBACK

The Nigerian 419 scam has returned to plague email inboxes once again, with Symantec's February 2010 spam analysis reporting that old-style social engineering fraud is at the highest levels ever measured by the company.  (READ MORE)

NIGERIAN, OKPAKO DIAMREYAN, CONVICTED OF WIRE FRAUD CHARGES IN CONNECTICUT

A 31-year-old Nigerian man could face up to 20 years in prison after being convicted Tuesday of charges related to running advance free fraud scams for five years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Okpako Mike Diamreyan lived in Nigeria, Ghana and the U.S. between August 2004 and August 2009, running scams that involved sending e-mails and making phones calls in order to perpetrate advance free fraud (AFF). (READ MORE)

NIGERIAN FRAUDSTER, CHINAENYE MOKELU, CONNED EYE SURGEON £352,000 OR $528,000

A NIGERIAN fraudster who conned £352,000 out of a leading eye surgeon in an internet scam has been ordered to repay her £53,400. Chinaenye Mokelu, 44, of Argent Street, Grays, sent out spam e-mail asking UK bank account holders to help him transfer his “$300million fortune” to Britain. (READ MORE)

THE NEW MISS AMERICA

History and the Seventh Black Woman to Win the Coveted “Miss America” Title

A Journey from Playing a Slave to Wearing a Crown

          (Taylor Media Services) Many critics dismiss the Miss America Pageant as a relic of the past and/or the unhealthy objectification of women. However, for African American women, the trek through Miss America has gone from denial of Black beauty to playing a slave to wearing the crown. When Virginia Commonwealth University broadcast major Caressa Cameron captured the title a couple of weekends ago, she was the seventh Black woman to be so honored.

          Thus, Blacks winning the Miss America crown has become almost commonplace. But it did not start out that way. In the beginning, Black females were not allowed anywhere near the pageant. Then in 1923, an African American woman made it onto the stage. Her name has been forgotten to history but she was part of a musical number in which she played the role of a slave.

          It was not until 1970 that a Black woman actually won a state title and competed in the pageant held in Atlantic City. She was Miss Iowa’s Cheryl Brown. Miss Arkansas Lencola Sullivan made it to the top five in 1980. Then in 1984, Vanessa Williams became the nation’s first African American Miss America. Some nude and suggestive pictures published in Penthouse magazine forced her to give up the title but she regrouped and still enjoys a successful singing, movie and television career.

          One big irony of this year’s pageant was that among the judges was arch-conservative (some say racist) radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. We can only wonder what the “Rush Limbaughs” of 1923 would think. (Taylor Media Services – www.blacknewsjournal.net )

Miss Caressa Cameron crowned the new Miss America 2010.  Wow!! What Beauty!!

The 100 Black Men of America Commitment to the Community

President Obama Calls Space

This evening, President Obama will call the astronaut crews of the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Endeavour from the Roosevelt Room of the White House and congratulate the astronauts on their successful ongoing mission. The call will be livestreamed at 5:15pm EST on WhiteHouse.gov/live.

Building on the "Educate to Innovate" campaign, the President will be joined by middle school students from Michigan, Florida, North Carolina and Nebraska who are visiting for the “Future City” engineering competition -- an event that drew 34,000 7th and 8th graders from across the nation to Washington, D.C. this week to discuss innovative ideas and designs for a city of tomorrow. 

THE RECOVERY: A YEAR LATER