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Cameroon's Paul Biya, a known French asset, shakes up military in wake of revolution sweeping through Africa
By Deji Komolafe
The President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, a known asset of France at the helm for over four decades, on Wednesday made major changes to the country’s ministry of defense.
The decision of Biya is coming as coups continue to spread on the African continent.
Some Presidents are taking proactive steps by reshuffling defense portfolios.
Among the posts reshuffled were the delegate to the presidency in charge of defense, air force staff, navy, and the police.
Biya came to power in a coup d'état in 1982. His early years on the saddle were marred by reports of oppression and human rights violations.
Although he subsequently allowed multiparty elections in the country, the 90-year-old has remained president since he rode to power.
Wednesday
Top 5 Inventions By Nigerians
By Oghenerume Progress
The people from this great African nation are also known to excel when exposed to the right environment and have made great impact in the world through art and music.
Nigerians have also made great strides in the field of innovation and inventions that have made the world a slightly better place. Here are five top inventions made by Nigerians;
1) Philip Emeagwali - Program for world's fastest computer
 Dr-Philip-Emeagwali (Credit: How Africa News) |
Born in Nigeria, Philip Emeagwali grew up to become a computer scientist who gained global recognition for his groundbreaking invention. Emeagwali is credited with the invention of the Connection Machine (CM).
This machine uses computational fluid dynamics for oil-reservoir modelling. It utilises 65,000 computer processors linked in parallel to form what is recognised as the fastest computer on Earth - performing 3.1 billion calculations per second, which is faster than the theoretical top speed of the Cray Supercomputer.
2) Seyi Oyesola - Hospital in a box
 Seyi Oyesola (Credit: Glazia) Seyi Oyesola is a Nigerian medical doctor who co-invented what is popularly known as “Hospital in a Box” or CompactOR. As the name implies, Hospital in a box is a mini hospital that is a solar-powered life-saving operating room which can be transported to remote areas of Africa and set up within minutes. The renowned medical doctor gained his inspiration from shortage of power in rural places in Africa. 3) Emeka Nelson - Urine-Powered Generator
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Tuesday
Coup: Gabonese citizens celebrate as soldiers remove ali Bongo from office
Some citizens of Gabon have taken to the streets in the country to jubilate over the military coup in the early hours of Wednesday which ousted President Ali Bongo from office.
A video that has gone viral on the internet shows citizens of the country in the streets of the country celebrating the removal of Bongo.
As earlier reported, Gabon on Wednesday, became the latest African country in recent times where the military has executed a coup to remove the democratic government from power.
The Gabonese President, Ali Bongo, was deposed by the military on Wednesday 30th August 2023, days after winning the presidential election in the country.
Soldiers were said to have appeared on Gabonese national television in Gabon to announce that they had taken power.
The coupists also announced the annulment of Saturday’s election and the dissolution of the democratic institutions in the country.
Speaking on Gabon 1 and Gabon 24, the spokesman of the coupists said he was speaking on behalf of the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions.”
Following the development, some citizens were seen on the streets of the country jubilating and celebrating in apparent support of the military takeover.
Before Ali Bongo came into power, his father, Omar Bongo had ruled Gabon for 42 years. In total, the Bongo family had been in power for 56 years.
Monday
Niger Coup leaders cut off electricity, water supply to French Embassy
By Enioluwa Adeniyi
Niger Republic military leaders have stopped electricity and water going to the French Embassy in Niamey.
No food is getting in either, according to Turkish news source Anadolu.
The same actions are happening at French consulates in other cities like Zinder and Dosso.
Elh Issa Hassoumi Boureima, head of a national support committee, has asked partners of French bases in Niger to halt supplies of water, electricity, and food.
He was quoted to have said, “We ask Nigelec and SPEN (SEEN)) to cut off water and electricity in the French Embassy, in the French consulates of Zinder and Niamey.”
In addition, the military coup leaders in Niger have warned that helping France with supplies will make you an “enemy of the sovereign people.”
The decision of the coup leaders comes after a 48-hour deadline for the French ambassador to leave Niger ended on Sunday.
Diplomatic ties have been shaky between Niger, some Western countries, and the West African group, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since the July 26 coup.
France on Friday evening refused to follow the order against its ambassador, saying it doesn’t recognize the military’s authority.
The coup on July 26 threw Niger into chaos when Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
NAIJA NEWS
Saturday
China’s Military Has Surpassed the U.S. in Ships, Missiles and Air Defense, Department of Defense report finds......
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has already surpassed the U.S. in missile development and its number of warships and air defense systems under the Chinese Communist Party’s plan to achieve dominance by 2049, the Defense Department said in a sobering report.
The ultimate goal of the People’s Republic of China, or PRC, is to “develop a military by mid-Century that is equal to — or in some cases superior to — the U.S. military, or that of any other great power that the PRC views as a threat,” the DoD’s annual report to Congress said.
To that end, the PRC has “marshalled the resources, technology, and political will over the past two decades to strengthen and modernize the PLA in nearly every respect,” the report said.
Under the national strategy pressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the result has been that “China is already ahead of the United States in certain areas” essential to its overall aim of progressing from homeland and periphery defense to global power projection, the report said.
“The PRC has the largest navy in the world, with an overall battle force of approximately 350 ships and submarines, including over 130 major surface combatants,” the report said.
That’s compared to the U.S. Navy’s current battle force of 295 ships.
In addition, “the PRC has more than 1,250 ground-launched ballistic missiles (GLBMs) and ground-launched cruise missiles (GLCMs) with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers,” while the U.S. currently fields one type of conventional GLBM with a range of 70 to 300 kilometers and no GLCMs, the report said.
In some respects, China is also ahead on integrated air defense systems with a mix of Russian-built and homegrown systems, the report said.
“The PRC has one of the world’s largest forces of advanced long-range surface-to-air systems” — including Russian-built S-400, S-300, and domestically-produced anti-air systems — making up “part of its robust and redundant integrated air defense system,” the report said.
Despite the advances, the PLA “remains in a position of inferiority” to the U.S. in overall military strength, said Chad Sbragia, the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for China.
The 173-page DoD report “does not claim that China’s military is 10 feet tall,” but the Chinese Communist Party wants it to be, and has the plan and resources to reach that goal, Sbragia, a retired Marine officer, said at an American Enterprise Institute forum on China’s military.
At an earlier Pentagon briefing on the report, Sbragia said Beijing’s military strategy was driven by the view that the U.S. has decided upon a long period of confrontation to counter the global spread of China’s influence.
He said that China “increasingly views the United States as more willing to confront Beijing on matters where the U.S. and PRC interests are inimical.”
“The CCP leaders view the United States’ security alliances and partnerships — especially those in the Indo-Pacific region — as destabilizing and irreconcilable with China’s interests,” Sbragia said.
The DoD report, titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” comes on the heels of China's increasing political and military influence in the world and the South China sea respectively.
The 23rd annual report on China by DoD noted the “staggering” improvements in China’s ability to build, coordinate and project power since the first report was issued.
“DoD’s first annual report to Congress in 2000 assessed the PRC’s armed forces at that time to be a sizable but mostly archaic military that was poorly suited to the CCP’s long-term ambitions,” the report said.
In 2000, “the PLA lacked the capabilities, organization, and readiness for modern warfare,” the report said. But the CCP, it added, recognized the shortcomings and set about with determination to “strengthen and transform its armed forces in a manner commensurate with its aspirations to strengthen and transform China.”
“More striking than the PLA’s staggering amounts of new military hardware are the recent sweeping efforts taken by CCP leaders that include completely restructuring the PLA into a force better suited for joint operations” and for “expanding the PRC’s overseas military footprint.”
The PLA has already established its first overseas military base in Djibouti, about a mile from U.S. Africa Command’s main base on the Horn of Africa.
In its commentary on the DoD assessment, the American Enterprise Institute noted that the report also stressed that “The PRC has likely considered locations for PLA military logistics facilities in Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan.”
Despite the progress made by China’s military over the past two decades, “major gaps and shortcomings remain” in readiness and operational capability, the report said, but China’s leaders are acutely aware of the problems and have detailed plans to overcome them.
“Of course, the CCP does not intend for the PLA to be merely a showpiece of China’s modernity or to keep it focused solely on regional threats,” the report said.
“As this report shows, the CCP desires the PLA to become a practical instrument of its statecraft with an active role in advancing the PRC’s foreign policy, particularly with respect to the PRC’s increasingly global interests and its aims to revise aspects of the international order,” it added.
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
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