Nigerian President YarAdua sacks army chiefs in shake-up
(David Bebber/The Times)
President Umaru YarAdua of Nigeria
President Umaru YarAdua of Nigeria has replaced the countrys military top brass, in the first big military shake-up since being was installed as President last year.
Unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta continues to disrupt production in the worlds eighth-biggest oil exporter. Attacks by militant groups have cut oil production in the West African country by a fifth since 2006, helping to push world crude prices to historic highs.
Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, last month announced a military training and advisory support package to curb the violence and sabotage of oil pipelines in the delta.
The dismissal of Nigerias top generals will be seen as both punishment for the militarys failure to tackle violence in the delta and a further skirmish in the battle between the President and his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo.
The sacked generals, including Andrew Azazi, the former Chief of Defence Staff, were loyal to General Obasanjo, who has been an influential figure in Nigerian politics since leading a military junta in the 1970s, and remains head of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Rolake Akinola, senior West Africa analyst at Control Risks private security company, said, YarAdua is trying to assert his authority and needs a constant cycle of change to undermine coup threats and power struggles.
Since winning independence from Britain in 1960 Nigeria has undergone eight military coups and has been ruled by generals for most of the past 47-years. In a move that one observer called a sign of supreme confidence, Mr YarAdua sacked the generals shortly before leaving the country on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The new Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall Paul Dike, like his predecessor, hails from the Niger Delta and his priority will be to ensure security in the restive region.
Numerous militant groups in the delta claim to be fighting for political autonomy and a fair share of Nigerias vast oil revenues while criminal gangs indulge in kidnapping and theft. The coastal region is home to some of the worlds biggest oil companies including Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell and produces millions of barrels of oil every day, yet the majority of people live in poverty on the polluted wetlands.
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
