Ojogbon Globalization

President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) of Nigeria is visiting the US from July 20-23. The primary purpose of the visit is a meeting with President Barack Obama.  PMB will also meet with the Secretary of state as well as with "the United States Senate and Congressional Committees on Foreign Relations, as well as the Black Caucus of the United States House of Representatives."  Nigerian priorities as expressed by the President include security, economic development and fighting corruption. #BringBackOurGirls' primary priority is the rescue of our Chibok girls and all abducted Nigerians.  This goal will only be meaningful if the Nigerian government can guarantee of the human and personal security of all Nigerians.  Thus, ending the Boko Haram insurgency and the brutal attacks on Nigerian citizens by armed militias and bandits must also be prioritized. I urge all US citizens to call upon your congressional representatives and ask for the following to be prioritized in th...

It is painful and unbelievable that we are approaching the one year mark since Boko Haram abducted our girls from their school in Chibok. Many more fellow Nigerians were abducted before and after. So many have lost their lives, and we have millions of IDPs and refugees. Despite the devastating circumstances, we remain steadfastly hopeful that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) would collaborate with the governments of Chad, Niger and Cameroon as well as other African states and international partners to rescue our abducted girls and fellow citizens and reunite them with their families. The FGN has a huge responsibility: Besides ensuring that our girls and fellow citizens are rescued, IDPs must be given decent humanitarian assistance according to established best practices. Refugees must also be given thoroughgoing protection, decent conditions and humanitarian assistance according to established best practices. Communities that have been devastated must be reha...

 The photo above and poster below are courtesy of LYNX Nigeria, which is to be commended for its steadfast dedication to keeping the plight of our girls alive. Today is 300 days after the Chibok abductions.  Many girls, women, boys, and even men were abducted before and after.  Many have been killed by suicide bombers while going about their daily lives.  Many communities were brutally attacked and were not defended by the Nigerian government.   Now the Federal Government of Nigeria has postponed elections for six weeks, and it tells us (among other things) that this is because it wants to concentrate on fighting Boko Haram.  If this is true, it's sad that the government just realized that this is an important thing to do.  However, it's hard to believe this rationale, and this is a sad time for Nigeria. Many people wonder what the government can do in six weeks that it wasn't able to do in four years.  I am sad for Nigeri...

As the year ends, I look back and wonder where all the time went.  I wasn't able to accomplish much work-life balance this year because I became involved in the #BringBackOurGirls movement and led the establishment of #BringBackOurGirlsNYC.  I wrote most of this blog on a sleepless night in August this year, in a long email to a friend.  It remains relevant, particularly because it reflects the issue that has embroiled my life all year long. Nigeria is squandering her people with wanton abandonment.  Why do we not feel ashamed to say that we have the largest economy in Africa when we don't even have a decent healthcare system?  Why do our political class and elites flaunt their ability to go for medical treatment abroad and they don't realize that the lack of decent care at home reflects poorly on them, plus they are playing "Russian roulette" with their lives since they could die from very preventable and treatable conditions?  Why do we have decayed in...

#BringBackOurGirls NYC #BringBackOurGirls: Boko Haram and Human Security in West Africa Conference.   Thursday, December 4, 2014  9:30am – 6:00pm The Graduate Center, CUNY, 365 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY the conference is a call for continued action toward the end of gender based violence and the rescue and safe return of our girls who were abducted from their school in chibok, borno state, nigeria on april 14, 2014, and all other nigerian citizens abducted by boko haram December 4, 2014 New York, New York – On April 14 , 2014, armed militants from the insurgent group, Boko Haram, stormed female school dormitories in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria.  The militants forcefully abducted 200+ young female students in the middle of the night, stole supplies and burned the school to the ground.  Other women and girls, boys and men have been abducted before and after the April 14 th abduction, and Boko Haram is still on the rampage. Many communities have b...

It's important to keep our girls on the agenda.  Lacking huge resources and robust participation by people who are still sitting on the fence on this issue, I believe it's important to stand up and be counted.  The US-Africa Summit brought most of Africa's heads of state to the US to discuss US-Africa trade. The Young African Leaders Initiative was also combined with the events for the trade talks.  I have no doubt that the trade will benefit the US and will have underwhelming impact on Africa.  It is also most unfortunate that the neoliberal model of trade is being pursued.  This means that in the US, the trade will benefit the large corporations like Bloomberg, Monsanto, Dow, General Electric and the like, to the detriment of small and medium scale enterprises. It is also curious that African American businesses are not privileged in these deliberations.  Neither are businesses owned by new African immigrants to the US, who could be a bridge between ...