YES, IT was a very civil sort of war.
No rioting at the auditorium at the Yar’Adua centre,
not even raised voices.
But confrontation it was. Civil society
members took on Secretary-General Don McKinnon with
stamina sustained through the hour-long meeting. They
asked for access to leaders, even to the Commonwealth
Secretariat.
A GROUP of Nigerian civil society organisations
have asked for the suspension of Britain and Australia
from the Commonwealth over the invasion and “colonial
occupation” of Iraq.
COMMONWEALTH governments must match
principles more closely with practice if the body is
to have relevance in the twenty-first century, says
a final statement from the Commonwealth Peoples Forum
to be issued to heads of state who began jetting in
to Abuja yesterday.
THE NIGERIAN Network of Non Governmental
Organisation (NNNG) is to meet with Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo after the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) to resolve the high level of corruption
in the country.
THE COMMONWEALTH Pharmaceutical Association (CPA) on
Tuesday launched its Ocho Rios statement on HIV/AIDS
at the Commonwealth Peoples Forum with a demand that
governments of the Commonwealth engage the pharmaceutical
industry in decision making.
THERE IS one thing Titi Abubakar, founder of Women
Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation
(WOTCLEF), wants from the Commonwealth leaders as they
attend their 54th meeting in Abuja - cooporation with
developing countries and a holistic approach in the
fight against human trafficking.
SEVERAL GROUPS of schoolchildren came to the village
of the Commonwealth People’s Forum Wednesday.
They came from different schools, their different uniforms
said so.
Some children read out poems. Others were taught the
dangers from AIDS. Some seemed too young to know what
sex is, but teachers want to be careful these days.
The children sang songs warning of the danger from AIDS.
IT IS at the heart of everything that happens at the
Yar’Adua centre. Contemporary Nigerian artists
have set up an exhibition that gives expression to the
creative side of people.
Nigeria’s National Gallery of Arts has helped
them put up the show.
Forget Hollywood and Bollywood, Nigeria has a booming
local film industry that’s on show in the Commonwealth
Peoples Market. At a stall that has a steady stream
of visitors, video and DVD films spill from shelves
onto the floors.
FOR ONE little old lady, Queen Elizabeth II can cause
a lot of upset. Almost every main road in Abuja’s
closed for her majesty. “Queen who?”, you
could almost hear the young people (born after the colonial
years) asking as they angrily zoomed by yet another
closed boulevard. “And she and Phillip are probably
having a snooze,” remarked one miffed young lady.
From 1 to 7 December 2003, civil society from Commonwealth nations
are meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, for the Commonwealth People's Forum.
The
event, with the theme 'Citizens and Governance', is being held parallel
to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting CHOGM. IPS is producing
a printed and electronic special edition of TerraViva Conference
Daily, from Dec 1 - 5, as well as daily coverage from CHOGM.
Corruption,
Corruption...
