John Ikuru

John Ikuru (1877–1947) was the son of king Ikuru Efuya, founder of Ikuru Town and Madam Obiringene of Opobo; his mother came from Ekede. He was born in 1877 in Ikuru Town, and had his primary school education at St. Paul’s School, Opobo/Nkoro, from 1887 to 1895, and secondary school education at the Wesley Boys’ High School, in Lagos. At that time, Christianity was already sweeping through the entire Western Region of now Nigeria and the Niger Delta, through the evangelistic activities of the Church Missionary Society with Bishop Ajayi Crowther as the pioneer Missionary. So, trained in Lagos, John Ikuru embraced Christianity and became exposed to Christian ethics and philosophy.
In 1900 his father, King Ikuru Efuya, died, and it became obvious that John Ikuru would be the next Okama (Ruler) of Ikuru Town, Andoni. That came true in 1904 when he was invited to return and rule his people. Also in 1904, the British conducted a Punitive Expedition against the still-heathern Obolo people and Yok- Obolo at Alabie (Agwut-Obolo) because of their aggression against other groups in the area heathenism. The British destroyed their House of Skulls and the Shrine of Yok-Obolo in 1904, and split Andoni into six parts, each attached to one of the six Native Courts in the Niger Delta. Ikuru Town was attached to Opobo Town Native Court and Alabie (Agwut Obolo) to Bonny Native Court. M. D. W. Jeffrey said that the purpose of doing this was to destroy Andoni as a political entity.
When John Ikuru returned from Lagos to Ikuru Town in 1904. Evidently, he had a herculean task in his hands. He came back with a ‘Bible’ in one hand, and “chalk” in the other. His father was a rich trader and had laid a solid foundation for him. Soon, he was able to build a palace in Ikuru Town from where he started his evangelistic work. He produced a small group of followers whom he sent out to the other villages to Christianize them and initiate some rudimentary education in such places:
To Okoroete, he sent Ralph O. Ikuru
To Ngo, he sent Sylvanus Ikuru
To Ebukuma, he sent James Accra
To Oronija, he sent Samuel Ikuru
To Akaradi, he sent George Ekprikpo; and
To Ataba, he sent Julius Urombo5
These young men revolutionized not only ecclesiasticism in these places, but also education.
John Ikuru was made a Warrant Chief by the Colonial Administration and attached to the Opobo Native Court. In 1913 he was able to prevail on the Colonial Administration to open a Court in Obolo (Andoni) as the people were now Christians. Existing Records claimed that at that point it was the only such Native Court in the Federation. Very soon he and Chief Ereforokuma were able to take legal action against the Opobo for violating the Obolo-Opobo Treaty of 1869, when they started migrating to other Obolo land not given to them in 1869.
Unfortunately, because of leadership problems between him and Chief Ereforokima, the Colonial Administration closed down the Court in 1922 and transferred the case to the 6 Calabar branch of the Supreme Court. In 1925–26, the Supreme Court passed judgment, granting the Obolo (Andoni) their requests.
First, the “Andoni Mainland” remained exclusive to the Obolo (Andoni) people. Also the tribute payable to Yok-Obolo by King Jaja had its name changed to “Customary gifts,” and Opobo Town was given three islands instead of one which was given to Jaja in 1869, and Nkoro was given one island exclusive to them.
The Colonial Administration, particularly M. D. W. Jeffrey’s, had observed that through the Oru, they the Obolo (Andoni) could administer themselves and therefore approved the granting of a Native Court. It was established in 1930, at Agafor, with Ralph O. Ikuru as the Scribe. From then, the Obolo (Andoni), not only unified their segments, scattered all over the Niger Delta, but started ruling themselves.
In all these, John Ikuru was instrumental and pushed Obolo (Andoni) forward as a member of the Oru.
By 1930, John Ikuru had opened the main Church building, St. Simon’s Anglican Church, in Ikuru Town, whose foundation stone was laid by Bishop A. M. Gelsthorpe on February 22, 1937; it became the ecclesiastical headquarters of Obolo (Andoni).
Ikuru was a Knight of the Order of St. Christopher (KSC) awarded posthumously. Economically, King (Sir) John Ikuru was a wealthy palm oil merchant, with trading posts in Ekpirikpe, Azumini, Uruafoug, Ndiya and Ekpenukpa in Ibibio land in present day Akwa-Ibom State of Nigeria. He came to be regarded as the symbol of light and enlightenment in Obolo (Andoni) history. This is not only in terms of the spread of the gospel in the area, but also in terms of the spread of education in the area. As the only person in the area with secondary school education at that time – he was very close to the British Colonial Administrators in Opobo Division of Calabar Province, where Andoni was.
Apart from M. D. W. Jeffrey, John Ikuru was virtually the “Voice of Obolo” and the source of the coming to Obolo (Andoni) of the Native Court in 1930.
John Ikuru died in 1947, after having trained a large number of clerics and secondary school leavers. Also, he was married with many children.


Gademotta

The Gademotta Formation in the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley is known for its Middle Stone Age archaeological sites. It is located west of Lake Ziway. In addition to the type-site, which assumes the same name, the formation contains a cluster of sites at Kulkuletti, some away. The near-lake environment and locally available obsidian may have attracted the continuous/repeated occupation of the area by Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins.
The Gademotta Formation site-complex was discovered in the early 1970s by a team of researchers under the leadership of Fred Wendorf and Romuald Schild. This team conducted several excavations in 1972 and 1973, recovering tens of thousands of stone artifacts. Renewed research in the Gademotta Formation was encouraged by new techniques that allowed for a more precise 40Ar/39Ar age of the site published in 2008.
An age of over 279,000 years old is published for the oldest Middle Stone Age site in the Formation. Although similar in age with the oldest Middle Stone Age site in the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya, the oldest occupation at Gademotta is characterized by technological elements that are exclusively attributable to the Middle Stone Age. Stone-tipped throwing spears of that age have been studied.


List of mosques in Ivory Coast

The collection of mosques in northern Côte d'Ivoire (also known as Ivory Coast) were built in a Sudanese style first brought to the Empire of Mali in the 14th Century. They are being considered to be put on the World Heritage list of sites who have "outstanding universal value" to the world.
World Heritage status.
This collection of sites was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on November 29, 2006 in the Cultural category.


Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay () is a harbour town of about 99,319 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is in an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the country's seat of parliament, Cape Town (which is also the capital city of the Western Cape), and 400 km west of Gqeberha, the largest city in the Eastern Cape. The older parts of the town occupy the north-facing side of the Cape St Blaize Peninsula, whilst the newer suburbs straddle the Peninsula and have spread eastwards along the sandy shore of the Bay.
The town's economy relied heavily on farming, fishing and its commercial harbour (the smallest in the Transnet Port Authority's stable of South African commercial harbours), until the 1969 discovery of natural offshore gas fields led to the development of the gas-to-liquids refinery operated by PetroSA. Tourism is another driver of Mossel Bay's economy.
Etymology.
The origin of the name Mossel Bay (the Bay of Mussels) has to do with the ascendancy of the Dutch shipping merchants in the late 16th and the early 17th Centuries. In one account, the explorer Cornelis de Houtman named the place Mosselbaai when he stopped there in 1595, whilst in another, the Dutch Admiral Paulus van Caerden named it when he came ashore on 8 July 1601. Whatever the case, though, the mussels and oysters on the shore would have been a welcome addition to the limited diet on which ship's crews were expected to survive in those days.
History.
Although it is today best known as the place at which the first Europeans landed on South African soil (Bartolomeu Dias and his crew arrived on 3 February 1488), Mossel Bay's human history can – as local archaeological deposits have revealed – be traced back more than 164,000 years.
The modern history of Mossel Bay began on 3 February 1488, when the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias landed with his men at a point close to the site of the modern-day Dias Museum Complex. Here they found a spring from which to replenish their water supplies. Dias had been appointed to search for a trading route to India by King John II of Portugal, and, without realising it, actually rounded the Cape of Good Hope before landing at Mossel Bay – which he named "Angra dos Vaqueiros" (The Bay of Cowherds). Dias is also credited with having given the Cape the name "Cabo das Tormentas" (the ‘Cape of Storms’), although King John II later changed this to "Cabo da Boa Esperança" (the Cape of Good Hope).
Dias’ excursion ashore ended hastily when the local people chased him off in a hail of stones.
By the time the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached the area in 1497, the Bay had been marked on the maps as "Aguada de São Brás", (the Watering Place of St Blaize - whose feast is celebrated on 3 February).
Da Gama bartered successfully for cattle with the local Khoi people in what is generally regarded as the first commercial transaction between Europeans and the indigenous people of South Africa.
Post Office Tree.
In 1501, another Portuguese navigator, Pedro d'Ataide, sought shelter in Mossel Bay after losing much of his fleet in a storm. He left an account of the disaster hidden in an old shoe which he suspended from a milkwood tree ("Sideroxylon inerme") near the spring from which Dias had drawn his water. The report was found by the explorer to whom it was addressed — João da Nova — and the tree served as a sort of post office for decades thereafter. (More recently, a boot-shaped post box has been erected under the now famous Post Office Tree, and letters posted there are franked with a commemorative stamp. This has ensured that the tree has remained one of the town's biggest tourist attractions.)
João da Nova erected a small shrine near the Post Office Tree, and although no traces of it remain, it is considered the first place of Christian worship in South Africa.
Settlement.
Although the Dutch governor of the Cape Colony, Jan de la Fontaine, visited Mossel Bay and erected a possession stone here in 1734, the first permanent European building — a fortress-like granary — was built only in 1787. In July of the following year, the first shipment of wheat grown in the area was shipped from the Bay.
Although a British force had invaded the Cape in 1806, and Britain had taken permanent possession of the Colony in 1814, the Mossel Bay area retained its Dutch-given name until its declaration as a magistracy in 1848, when it was renamed Aliwal South, after the Battle of Aliwal in India, where the then governor of the British-held Cape Colony, Harry Smith, had won victory over the Sikhs on 8 January 1846. The name Aliwal South never stuck, however — even when the town was officially proclaimed in 1848, and when it became a Municipality in 1852.
From the earliest days of the Dutch settlers, Mossel Bay acted as the major port serving the Southern Cape region and its hinterland, the arid Klein (or Little) Karoo, and during the ostrich feather boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 800,000 kg of feathers were exported through the port every year — which may have been the impetus that led to the construction of the first breakwater in 1912.
Fishing and farming remained the main activities of the area during the early years of the 20th Century, and the growth of the port reflected this. The discovery of natural gas fields offshore in 1969, of the FA gas field in the Bredasdorp Basin (also off the Southern Cape coast) in 1980, and of the nearby EM field in 1983, led to the development of the Mossgas gas-to-liquids refinery (commissioned in 1987 and renamed the PetroSA Refinery in 2002).
This changed the nature of the port so that its major business now comes from serving supply ships for PetroSA's offshore platforms, and from export via its offshore single point (or single buoy) mooring, which is located in about 21 metres of water in an unsheltered roadstead at Voorbaai, in the lee of the St Blaize Peninsula.
The development of the refinery led to a marked increase in property development in Mossel Bay, with the number of houses growing rapidly to accommodate the work force during the construction period.
Many of the people who came to work on the project remained in the town after commissioning, and it would appear from the changing economy of the town that they found work in tourism, light industry or commerce.
Whilst the Port and the Refinery have, of course, had a major influence on the development of Mossel Bay, they have always worked in tandem with the growth of tourism and general commerce so that the town now boasts a balanced and vibrant economy. Tourism in particular has influenced much of the growth since 1994, although the town has been a popular resort destination for South Africans since as early as the late 1800s.
The Afrikaans Language and Cultural Society (), also known as the ATKV, bought the farm Hartenbos, east of what was then the town of Mossel Bay, in 1936, and developed it as a holiday resort (now known as the ATKV Hartenbos Resort, and considered the biggest self-catering resort in the Western Cape Province). This was a significant step in the development of the town's tourism economy as it positioned Mossel Bay as a beach holiday destination - and beach tourism remains a major focus for incoming tourism in the 21st Century.
South Africa installed its first democratically elected government in 1994, which brought about sweeping changes in the structure of local government throughout the country - one of the results of which was that Mossel Bay merged with the smaller, neighbouring villages of Friemersheim, Great Brak River and Herbertsdale to form the present-day Municipality of Mossel Bay in December 2000.
Geography.
Climate.
Mossel Bay has an ocean-moderated semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh).
Mossel Bay's climate is mild throughout the year as the town is situated in the area where the winter rainfall and all-year rainfall regions of the Western Cape Province meet. Its weather is influenced by the Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean to the south, and by the presence of the Outeniqua Mountains to the north. Mossel Bay receives 80% of its rainfall at night.
Frost is rare or almost absent and snow has never been recorded on the coastal platform. Snow does, however, occasionally fall on the mountain peaks and can be seen from the town on rare occasions. Prevailing winds are westerly in winter (May - August) and easterly in summer (September - April), and rarely reach storm- or gale-force strength. The average days of sunshine are 320 days per year.
Topography.
Mossel Bay straddles the Cape St Blaize peninsula (which rises to an average height of 96 metres), and spreads out along the sandy shores of the Indian Ocean, eastwards towards the town of George. The Outeniqua Mountains, which form part of the Cape Fold Belt, lie to the north of the municipal area. These mountains of sandstone and shale are characterised by gentle slopes to the seaward side (which are generally covered by montane fynbos and grasslands), and rise to a height of 1,578 m at Cradock Peak, near George (40 km east of Mossel Bay), and 1,675 metres at Formosa Peak near Plettenberg Bay (150 km east of Mossel Bay).
To the east, the land slopes upwards towards the wave-cut platform (average elevation 245 metres) that characterises the more lush all-year-round rainfall area of the Garden Route. Here the land is mostly covered by grass and farmlands. The deep sandy soils of the western portion of the municipal area also give way to grass and farm-lands, with large stands of typically dry fynbos which are characterised by, amongst others, the "Aloe ferox" (also known as the "bitter aloe", "Cape aloe" or "red aloe") from which skin-care products are made locally, and the "Chondropetalum tectorum" (Cape or thatching reed) which is used for the roofing of traditional Cape-Dutch buildings.
The municipal area's boundaries are the Gouritz River in the west, the Outeniqua Mountains to the north, the Maalgate River in the east, and the Indian Ocean to the south.
Demography.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Mossel Bay (including the adjacent townships) is 59,031 people. Of this population, 40.9% described themselves as "Coloured", 40.1% as "Black African" and 17.6% as "White". 57.4% spoke Afrikaans as their first language, 30.7% spoke Xhosa and 6.9% spoke English.
Economy.
Tourism.
Mossel Bay has a strong tourism economy. The summer holiday season (from about mid-December to mid-January) is the busiest time of the year, and, in December 2010, the Municipality estimated that the town provided accommodation for between 50,000 and 60,000 holidaymakers per night during this period.
Natural gas and oil.
The PetroSA (Petroleum, Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa Pty Limited) Refinery — which was commissioned as Mossgas in 1987 — is situated about 13 km to the west of the town's central business district.
This is one of the world's largest Gas to liquids (GTL) refineries, and has always been a leader in the challenge of commercialising the GTL processes. It produces per day (bbl/d) — a crude oil equivalent of — using the Fischer-Tropsch process of converting natural gas (which is piped from offshore fields via PetroSA's FA Platform).
Mossel Bay's GTL plant serves up to 15 percent of South Africa's transport fuels requirements. It produces unleaded gasoline, ultra low sulphur diesel, kerosene, low aromatic distillates, drilling fluids, liquid petroleum gas, low sulphur fuel oil, anhydrous alcohols, liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and waxes.
Transport.
Road transport.
Mossel Bay straddles the N2 national highway, which is South Africa's main coastal road from Cape Town in the Western Cape Province, to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal Province. (Using this route, Mossel Bay lies exactly at the midpoint between Cape Town and the Eastern Cape Province's capital of Port Elizabeth — 400 km each way).
The Municipality of Mossel Bay maintains 417,9 km of paved and concreted roads, and 24 km of gravel roads. Mossel Bay is a stopping point for all major road transport operators licensed for this region.
Harbour.
The Port of Mossel Bay () is the smallest commercial harbour on the South African coast. It caters mostly for the oil industry (off-shore gas was discovered in late 1980s), and for a small fishing fleet, and is owned and managed by the Transnet National Ports Authority, which falls directly under South Africa's Department of Public Enterprises.
The depth of the entrance channel is 8 metres, while the maximum permissible draught inside the harbour is 6.5 metres. Pilotage is compulsory from a point northeast of Cape St Blaize.
Bunkering is available on the jetty and at quays 2, 3, and 5. Quay 4 can accommodate vessels of up to 130m, with a draught of 6.5m. A ship repair slipway can accommodate vessels of up to 200 tonnes. Ship chandler and stevedore services are available, as are diving services for hull cleaning, underwater inspection, salvage, etc.
The harbour has two offshore mooring buoys inside port limits: a catenary buoy mooring that caters for ships of up to 32,000DWT (maximum length 204m, draught 12m); and a single point mooring (SPM) marine tanker terminal that's connected to three hoses for the export of products from PetroSA's gas-to-fuel
refinery, which is situated inland (about 13 km) and directly west of Mossel Bay. The SPM is located off Voorbaai in an open, unsheltered roadstead in about 21 metres of water.
During the 2008/09 financial year Mossel Bay served 1,567 vessels (mostly South African trawlers) with a combined gross tonnage of 3,317,364-gt, and
handled a total of 2,014,185 tonnes of cargo (1,940,310t of bulk cargo — mostly oil products — and 73,875t of break-bulk). 773,267 tonnes of cargo was landed, and 1,240,918t was shipped.
15000 people worked on the synthol & refinery plant in Mossel Bay from 1998-2002 from all over the world - changing the landscape of the perception of
South Africa Garden Route & giving major credence to South Africa & multi-relations to the world.
Rail.
Mossel Bay is connected to the national rail network via a branch line to George. The line celebrated its centenary on 25 September 2007.
Archaeology.
Pinnacle Point Caves.
According to the presently accepted theory of the Recent African Origin of Modern Humans, all people alive today evolved from a core population of about 600 individuals who lived on the African Continent between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. The Mossel Bay Archaeology Project (MAP) has shown that the Southern Cape Coast was most probably the point where modern behaviour first emerged about 164,000 years ago.
The Mossel Bay Archaeology Project was created to examine the ancient middens in the Pinnacle Point Caves, most of which lie about 12 km east of Cape St Blaize.
The discovery was made during routine archaeological surveys conducted prior to the development of the Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort, and excavations began in the year 2000 under the leadership of Professor Curtis Marean (a palaeoanthropologist with the "Institute of Human Origins" at the Arizona State University), and by Dr. Peter Nilssen, of the Iziko South African Museum. The scientific team includes researchers from South Africa (the University of Cape Town), Australia (the University of New South Wales and the University of Wollongong), as well as Israel and France. Funding for the project was obtained from the National Science Foundation (USA); the Hyse Family Trust; the Iziko South African Museum; the University of Cape Town; and the Dias Museum in Mossel Bay.
The Project focuses on a series of caves cut into the sea-facing cliffs on the southern boundary of the Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort, which were occupied between 170,000 and 40,000 years ago by Middle Stone Age people.
The excavations have revealed the earliest evidence for the systematic exploitation of marine resources such as shellfish (which would have provided the Omega-3 fatty acids required for the development of the modern human brain); the earliest evidence for the use of dyes in symbolling (particularly the use of ochre, possibly for body painting or decorative arts); the use of advanced bladelet technology (embedding smaller blades into larger strata to create complex tools); and the earliest evidence for the use of heat treatment in the manufacture of stone tools.
The significance of the finds is increased by the presence of fossilised carbon isotopes in the dripstone formations (stalactites) hanging from the roofs of the caves, which contain a record of the composition of the water that seeped into the caves over a period beginning about 400,000 years ago. As part of their work, the scientists on the Bay Archaeology Project are studying this evidence in order to create a portrait of the climate of the area over the period 400,000 to 30,000 years ago so as to be able to correlate the evidence of human behaviour on the floor of the caves with climate patterns, and thus learn how man has adapted to climate change over the ages.
Cape St Blaize Cave.
The Cape St Blaize Cave is situated directly under the Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse, is the site of one of South Africa's oldest archaeological excavations. It was first excavated in 1888 by George Leith, then by T. Rupert Jones in 1899, and by A.J.H (John) Goodwin in the 1920s. Goodwin is said to have described the Middle Stone Age Mossel Bay Industry from his findings at Cape St Blaize .
The Cave has revealed deposits dating from about 200,000 years ago to the pre-colonial period, during which time middens were laid down by herders of the San or Khoekhoen people.
It is protected by Heritage Western Cape as a Provincial Heritage Site.
Rock Art.
The mountains to the north of Mossel Bay are an important repository of South African rock art. This art, which is now associated with shamanistic practices (in which the rock itself is thought to have been considered the veil between this world and the spirit world), was created by the San people, and specimens may date back as far as 27,000 years.
The rock art sites surrounding Mossel Bay are generally located on private land, and are therefore only accessible to the public in the company of registered guides, who will ensure that the integrity of the pieces remains intact.
Attractions.
Mossel Bay has been a beach holiday destination for South Africans for more than a century — a situation that received a particular boost after the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuur Vereniging (ATKV) bought the farm Hartenbos in the 1930s, and began developing it as a holiday resort for its members.
The major attractions were then, and (to a large extent) still are, the dry, warm and stable weather, and the Indian Ocean and its beaches. However, with good roads, modern vehicles and the development of inland accommodation, the broader environment of the area (including the Outeniqua Mountains to the north, and large stands of fynbos, or Cape macchia, to the west) is now vital to the tourism economy. In addition, the history of the town (Mossel Bay was the site of the first contact between European explorers and indigenous people), and its cultural attractions are important features.
Mossel Bay is situated exactly halfway between Cape Town (and the Cape Winelands) and Port Elizabeth (with its game reserves), and is therefore a popular stopping-off and resting point on the itineraries of international visitors to the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces.
The Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex is the largest of the museums in Mossel Bay. Originally designed to celebrate the arrival of Bartolomeu Dias and his crew on 3 February 1488, and to protect the "Post Office Tree", the Complex now offers a wider look at the history of Mossel Bay from environmental, archaeological, and cultural perspectives.
Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse () was built in 1864 to designs by the Colonial engineer, R. Robinson. The original light (on a masonry tower 20.5 metres in height) was stationary, but in 1897 a revolving, clock-work light, which required winding every three hours, was fitted. This was used until the late 1970s. The light is now fully automated.
Mossel Bay is also home to the Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club.
Coats of arms.
Municipality (1) — The original arms, designed by W.H. Armstrong & Co (of Cape Town), were assumed on 6 October 1905. The shield was quartered as follows: 1 the figure of Justice on a red background; 2 a golden fleece on a blue background; 3 three interlaced golden fish on a blue background; 4 the figure of Neptune on a sky blue background.
Municipality (2) — In 1992, after the Bureau of Heraldry had refused to register the existing arms, because they were heraldically defective, the council accepted a new design, prepared by the Bureau. The new arms were registered at the Bureau on 6 March 1992: "Per saltire Argent and Azure, in chief a balance resting on the point of a sword erect, Azure; dexter three fish interlaced in annulet Or, sinister a golden fleece and in base, on a base wavy Azure charged with a bar wavy Argent, a Portuguese caravel, sails set, proper." In layman's terms : the shield was divided in four by two diagonal lines, the upper section displaying a blue balance and a sword on a silver background, the left section three interlaced golden fish on a blue background, the right section a golden fleece on a blue background, and at the bottom a Portuguese caravel on a stylised blue and white sea.
The crest was a lighthouse, and the motto "Jure et justitia valemus".
Municipality (3) — A new coat of arms was registered at the Bureau on 20 February 1998: "Per saltire, in base grady, Azure and Or, in chief two whales naiant in pale and in base a fess nowy of two Karoo gable houses, Argent, the doors Azure, the lower edge wavy; dexter an aloe Vert flowered Gules and sinister a 15th century Portuguese caravelle proper, the sail charged with a cross paty, Gules." In layman's terms : the shield is divided in four by two diagonal lines, the lower parts of which are stepped, the upper section displaying two silver whales on a blue background, the left section an aloe plant on a golden background, the right section a Portuguese caravel on a golden background, and the bottom section two stylised Karoo gable houses in silver against a blue background.
The crest is a lighthouse issuing from a black mural crown. The motto is, again, "Jure et justitia valemus".


Borama

Borama (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia.
During the Middle Ages, Borama was ruled by the Adal Sultanate. It later formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century.
According to the UNDP in 2005, the city had a population of around 215,616, making it one of the largest cities inside Somaliland. It has been a leading example in community organizing, having been the first area in Somaliland to adopt a self-help scheme in the wake of the civil war.
History.
As with several nearby towns such as Amud, numerous archaeological finds have been discovered in the Borama area that point to an eventful past. The latter include ancient remains of tombs, houses and mosques, in addition to sherds of Oriental wares, particularly Chinese porcelain. The artefacts and structures date from various historical periods, ranging from the 12th through to the 18th centuries. Most, however, are from the 15th and 16th centuries, a time of great commercial activity in the region that is associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate.
Excavations in the late 1800s and early 1900s at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama unearthed, among other things, coins identified as having been derived from Kait Bey, the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. Most of these finds were sent to the British Museum for preservation shortly after their discovery.
In the first half of the 20th century, Borama formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate. It was later given district status in 1925.
In 1933, Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur, a Qur'anic teacher and son of Borama's "qadi" (judge), devised a new orthography for transcribing the Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Somali language. A quite accurate phonetic writing system, this Borama script was principally used by Nuur and his circle of associates in the city. The alphabet is also generally known as the "Gadabuursi script".
During the onset of World War II, the Italians captured the town. It was re-captured by the British the following year, in 1940. In the post-independence period, Borama was administered as part of the official Awdal administrative region of Somalia. During the Ogaden War in the late 1970s, Borama was one of several northern cities aerially bombarded by Ethiopian forces.
Geography.
Location and habitat.
Borama is situated in a mountainous and hilly area. It has green meadows and fields and represents a key focal point for wildlife. The town's unusual fertility and greenery in the largely arid countryside have attracted many faunas, such as gazelles, birds, and camels.
Climate.
The prevailing climate in Borama is known as a local steppe climate. The warmest month of the year is June, with an average temperature of 24.1 °C. In January, the average temperature is 17.1 °C. It is the lowest average temperature of the whole year and the difference in precipitation between the driest month and the wettest month is 110 mm. The average temperatures vary during the year by 7 °C.
Demographics.
As of 2005, Borama had a population of around 215,616 inhabitants. The Awdal region in which the city is situated is inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir especially well represented and considered the predominant clan of the region.
Federico Battera (2005) states about the Awdal Region:
"Awdal is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi confederation of clans."
A UN report published by Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (1999), states concerning Awdal:
"The Gadabuursi clan dominates Awdal region. As a result, regional politics in Awdal is almost synonymous with Gadabuursi internal clan affairs."
Roland Marchal (1997) states that numerically, the Gadabuursi are the predominant inhabitants of the Awdal Region:
"The Gadabuursi's numerical predominance in Awdal virtually ensures that Gadabuursi interests drive the politics of the region."
Marleen Renders and Ulf Terlinden (2010) both state that the Gadabuursi almost exclusively inhabit the Awdal Region:
"Awdal in western Somaliland is situated between Djibouti, Ethiopia, and the Issaq-populated mainland of Somaliland. It is primarily inhabited by the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi clan, whose traditional institutions survived the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape, remaining functionally intact and highly relevant to public security."
There is also a sizeable minority of the Issa subclan of the Dir who mainly inhabit the Zeila district.
Education.
Currently, there are 52 primary and secondary schools in Borama. These schools can be divided into three main categories: public primary and secondary schools, private primary and secondary schools and Religious schools.
Total number of students in Borama is 15,314.
Transportation.
For air transportation, Borama is served by the Borama International Airport. It is the only airport in the Awdal region. The facility was named in honor of Aden Isaaq, Somalia's first Minister of Education. The airport is not in use; however, there are plans to rejuvenate it.


Rose Cottage Cave

Rose Cottage Cave (RCC) is an archaeological site in the Free State, South Africa, situated only a few kilometers away from Ladybrand close to the Caledon River on the northern slopes of the Platberg. RCC is an important site because of its long cultural sequence, its roots of modern human behavior, and the movement of early modern humans out of Africa. Rose Cottage is the only site from the Middle Stone Age that can tell us about the behavioral variability of hunter-gatherers during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Berry D. Malan excavated the site between 1943 and 1946, shortly succeeded by Peter B. Beaumont in the early 1960s, and the most recent excavations occurred from 1987 to 1997 by Lyn Wadley, and Philip Harper in 1989 under Wadley's supervision. Humans have inhabited of Rose Cottage for over 100,000 years throughout the Middle and Later Stone Ages. Site formation and sediment formation processes at Rose Cottage appear to be primarily anthropogenic. Archaeological research focuses primarily on blade technology and tool forms from the Middle Stone Age and the implications of modern human behavior. Structurally, the cave measures more than deep and about . A boulder encloses the front, protecting the cave, but allowing a small opening for a skylight and narrow entrances on both the east and west sides.
Archaeological excavations.
The extensive excavation sequence of Rose Cottage dates to Berry Malan in the 1940s. Shortly after, Peter Beaumont excavated the cave in 1962. Both Malan and Beaumont yielded LSA and MSA materials. The most recent explorations, from 1987 to 1997, were led by Lyn Wadley. In 1989, Philip Harper also contributed to excavations involving extensive analyses of lithic assemblages under Wadley's supervision.
Malan.
In the 1940s, Malan began excavations of Rose Cottage Cave. He explored a vast extent of the cave and excavated in spits. Depending on the order and relative position of strata, and the homogeneity of the natural sediment, some spits measured to depths of . Unfortunately, the spits distorted cultural sequence boundaries and thus complicated the correlation of collections and various excavations. Malan excavated a sizable expanse of the upper levels of the site, however only five squares (measured in yards) deep into the MSA layers.
During his excavations, Malan collected MSA ochre from Rose Cottage, but only kept pieces he thought significant. Malan never analyzed his artifacts, but Wadley and Harper conducted a study of the recovered lithics more than 40 years later and observed intermittent occurrences of lithic chunks and chips. These erratic frequencies possibly occurred because Malan did not methodically keep all artifacts. The frequent appearance of ochre pieces in Malan's collection, specifically small fragments with no discernible evidence of use detrition, is also likely the effect of his irregular collection practices. Malans' ochre collection included 84 definite and 25 potential pieces of ochre. The oldest layers contained the highest percentage of ochre pieces, while the post-Howiesons Poort layers contained the lowest ratio. Detailed examination of scored ochre collected from the oldest MSA layers suggests unpractical scoring, but instead possible engravings.
Despite the importance of the cave, Malan ceased his excavations in 1946 and performed no further explorations of the site or the collected materials. In 1952, Malan released his publication consisting of preliminary observations. He interpreted the extensive Stone Age sequence as Wilton, Pre-Wilton, MSA, and a three-phase Howiesons Poort.
Beaumont.
In 1962, Beaumont re-excavated Rose Cottage Cave to collect samples of charcoal for radiocarbon dating, a method not yet developed during Malan's excavations. The collected charcoal samples confirmed the antiquity of the cave and provided several dates from the LSA and MSA layers. The upper layers contained ceramics dating to 1100 BP (+/- 30). Beaumont presented an additional industrial period, the Early Later Stone Age (ELSA) industry, ranging between 29,000 BP and 40,000 BP. The ELSA correlates to strata between 1 and 3 meters deep. However, it is almost impossible to compare layers of the cave based solely on depth due to the sloping of the cave deposits. Beaumont never published his excavation results.
Wadley.
Lyn Wadley spent eleven years conducting large-scale excavations of Rose Cottage Cave. Wadley excavated a sizable extent of the site but dismissed her digs in upper MSA layers to focus on LSA occupation and carry out spatial analysis. The first steps of her excavation process included clearing out and sandbagging the old sections of the collapsing cave walls. She then constructed a 20-quadrant grid and excavated to depths of about of the undamaged parts of the cave. Wadley, with the assistance of Harper, executed extensive analyses of lithic assemblages. The accumulations substantially include fine-grained opalines, which were likely washed down by mountain streams from the Drakensberg basalts into the Caledon River located approximately from the site.
Wadley also collected charcoal samples intended for environmental analysis. The collected charcoal samples resulted in two unique vegetation patterns: one that accords to the Holocene and one to the Late Pleistocene.
Site formation.
Sediment peels from Rose Cottage Cave preserve unique materials and provide a record for site formation processes. Detailed examination of the sediment peels, coupled with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, demonstrates an abundance of sand- and silt-sized quartz grains. A small gap in the cave likely allowed for the entrance of these quartz grains. In parts of the cave, sediments measure more than deep. These deposits formed chiefly from the weathering of the sandstone walls and roof of the cave, and materials washed in by rainfall.
Deposits of burnt bone, charcoal, lithic fragments, fat-derived char, and ashes indicate that Rose Cottage has rich anthropogenic contributions to the formation of the site. Slow continuous downslope creep has produced an accumulation of loose, unconsolidated sediment deposits at the base of the cave. The buildup of these remains, combined with animal and plant disturbances, has homogenized much of the sediment deposits. Evidence of well-preserved bedding and sedimentary structures containing physical remains of fire are rare but are occasionally present in the sediment peels.
Clay coated artifacts indicate the downward flow of water over the sequence, which is probable reasoning for poor preservation of bone and ashes at Rose Cottage Cave. Sand and silt laminae and accumulations of coarse residual material left in the channel in the normal processes of the stream are observable in sediment peels dating from between 60 and 35 ka BP. These remains suggest an environment with high-energy sediment and frequent flooding, causing underlying deposits to erode and depositing newer sediment in large volumes. This environment explains the fluctuating presence of artifacts in the post-Howiesons Poort layers and implies human activity at Rose Cottage Cave during this period.
Technological innovations.
The Middle Stone Age dates to ages between around 96,000 years and 30,000 years ago. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) for sediments and Thermo-luminescence (TL) for burnt artifacts were used to derive these MSA ages. These ages denote approximately 60,000 years of MSA occupations at Rose Cottage Cave. During this period, blade technology and tool forms appeared at Rose Cottage Cave, suggesting episodes of ingenuity and innovation. The MSA tool assemblages include the recognizable Howiesons Poort industry (within which progressive variation is observable) and earlier and later MSA groupings. The Howiesons Poort layers are discernible by the occurrence of various backed tools (crescents and lunates segments), obliquely backed blades (truncations) and backed blades, thin blades, and bladelets.
Howiesons Poort industry.
The Howiesons Poort pieces are a variety of small geometric blades used as inserts in composite weapons. Composite tools signify a unique model in tool production and imply a progressive cognitive state. These multi-component tools were hafted together with complex pastes prepared from red ochre combined with plant gum. The term ochre describes a group of rocks that are usually carbonate of iron that have partially or wholly replaced limestone. Rose Cottage Cave Howiesons Poort encompasses an evolving classification of three phases, the pre-Howiesons Poort (pre-HP) phase, the Howiesons Poort (HP) phase, and the post-Howiesons Poort (post-HP) phase. These phases exhibit considerable changes in the length, shape, and thickness of the tools throughout time. Further analysis of these phases revealed a consistent trend toward smaller flake blades and flakes. However, the pieces all exhibit the central characteristics of a "classic" Howiesons Poort. The Howiesons Poort technology is evidence of developed hunting technologies with possible social and symbolic connotations.
Ochre evidence.
No sources of ochre occur in or around Rose Cottage Cave, yet the site has an extensive record of ochre collection and use. Excavations of Rose Cottage provide evidence of ochre use for over sixty thousand years. Pieces of ochre were first collected from the cave by Malan, later followed by Harper. Ochre pieces differ in color, grain size, geological type, and hardness. Red is associated with hematite rich ochre and yellow with goethite. Much of the excavated ochre had silty or clayey grain sizes.
The post-Howiesons Poort layers proved to be the most abundant in ochre pieces, but the Howiesons Poort layers had the highest ochre frequency per sediment volume. The utilization rate of ochre was highest in the pre-Howiesons Poort layers. The properties of the ochre pieces excavated from Rose Cottage Cave from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) indicate evidence of surface modifications. This evidence suggests that these early artisans did not simply color their pastes red, but instead, intentionally affected the physical appearance through chemical changes.
Ochre use.
The use of the term ochre, instead of coloring material or pigment, prevents assumptions of ochre use. New analyses of ochre groupings from Rose Cottage Cave improves the understanding of ochre use throughout the MSA. Archaeological evidence and finds of orche demonstrate use to a certain degree. People at Rose Cottage Cave used ochre for rubbing, grinding, and instances of scoring. The rubbing technique directly transfers red powder from ochre onto surfaces like animal hide and human skin. Rubbing is appropriate for purposes such as coloring, marking, or protecting skin or hide (from bacteria, insects, or sun). Evidence suggests that early artisans purposely colored and wore suspended ochre and ochre in pierced shells. The grinding of ochre produces a red ochre powder that, when combined with water, is useful for several tasks such as cosmetics, ochre-based paint, or ochre-loaded adhesives. The kinds of ochre selected are contingent upon time restrictions of some of the processes and techniques and implied uses of ochre. Engraved ochre found in burials implies a potential symbolic connotation.
Cultural innovations.
Excavations of Rose Cottage Cave suggests evidence of cultural modernity, such as the storing of symbolic materials. Dark-grey, fine-grained deposits, proving rich in organics, are believed to be composed of decaying plant and animal materials likely discarded by occupants. Sediments from Late Pleistocene and Holocene layers show that deposits collected from inside RCC are extremely C3 compared with deposits from outside, which are exceptionally C4. The C3 sediments from inside the cave must incorporate materials brought into Rose Cottage by its inhabitants, such as edible plants, leaves for bedding, and firewood.
Environment.
The environment of Rose Cottage Cave is primarily a sub-humid, summer precipitation area with occasional winter rainfall. Rose Cottage lies within the Caledon River corridor (measuring about wide), which, in comparison with the surrounding areas, experiences moderately severe winter frost. The cave is positioned facing northward; consequently, it is warmed by the sun during the winter months and cool in the summer. The surrounding vegetation is mainly Cymbopogon-Themeda grassland. This veld is fecund after rain showers; however, the grazing period is only six months out of the year. The open rural plains of the cave are mainly drab grasslands strewn with patches of scrub thicket and bush and rocky sandstone hill-slopes.


Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli

Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli (born 8 June 1966) is a Nigerian lawyer, banker and diplomat. He is the former Nigerian ambassador to Thailand with concurrent accreditation to Myanmar, and the current Emir of Zazzau, a Nigerian traditional state with headquarters in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. He is the first Emir from the Mallawa ruling house to be enthroned in a century after the demise of his grandfather, Emir Alu Dan Sidi in 1920.
Early life and education.
Bamalli was born in Kwarbai Zaria city, Kaduna State, Nigeria. He is the first son of Nuhu Bamalli (who once served as Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs). He obtained (LLB) law degree in 1989 from at Ahmadu Bello University , and his master's degree in international affairs and diplomacy from the same university in 2002. He obtained a post graduate diploma in management from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology in 1998.
He also attended a fellowship on conflict resolution at the University of York in 2009 and completed a diploma in organizational leadership from the University of Oxford in 2015. He also completed the General Management Program (GMP) at Harvard Business School in 2011.
Career.
Bamalli worked for the Metropolitan Management Agency before becoming head of human resources at Mtel, the mobile communication arm of the old Nigerian Telecommunications Limited.
He also worked in banking and as executive director and later acting managing director of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited.
He was permanent commissioner in the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission in 2015. Until his appointment as the new emir of Zazzau, Bamalli held the title of Magajin Garin Zazzau and served as Nigeria's Ambassador to Thailand, with concurrent accreditation to Myanmar.
Emir of Zazzau.
He was appointed as the new Emir of Zazzau by Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State on 7 October 2020. He is the first son of Nuhu Bamalli (Magajin Garin Zazzau).
Bamalli is the first emir from Mallawa ruling house in 100 years, following the demise of Alh Shehu Idris.


William Hutton (colonial administrator)

William Hutton was a British writer. He is notable for having written "A Voyage to Africa", which was published in 1821. He also served briefly in the British foreign service in the Kingdom of Ashanti and as Commandant of St Mary's Island, the Gambia.
Colonial service.
Ashanti.
Hutton was employed as a writer with the British African Company of Merchants. In 1819, Hutton travelled with Joseph Dupuis, British Consul at Kumasi, to the Cape Coast. It is an account of these events that led Hutton to write "A Voyage to Africa". In January 1820, Hutton was part of a British party that received Adum, the nephew of the King of Ashanti, at Cape Coast.
Writing.
Hutton wrote "A Voyage to Africa" in 1820. It was published in London in 1821. It was a part-travelogue, and part-diplomatic chronicle. It is likely that it would have been read in both Britain and in the United States, where British books were often imported.
The Gambia.
In 1829, Hutton became Acting Commandant of St Mary's Island after the previous Commandant, Alexander Findlay, returned to Britain. While temporarily in charge of the administration, Hutton made a voyage up the river to Fattatenda and Kantalikunda. Eleven Bathurst merchants had agreed to send goods up the river, provided Hutton could make satisfactory local treaties. On 11 April 1829, he agreed to pay £50 to the chief of Kantalikunda if he allowed Bathurst merchants to set up houses and factories in the town.
On 13 April 1829, Hutton entered into another treaty, with Mansa Kwiri, the King of Wuli. It stated that in return for an annual payment of £200, the King would grant the British full access to and sovereignty over Fattatenda and 100 acres of land surrounding it. When news of these treaties reached London, they did not meet with the approval of Robert William Hay. Findlay was instructed to investigate the treaties when he returned to the Gambia to take up the role of Lieutenant Governor. In particular, there were concerns over expenses that Hutton incurred, including a significant wine bill that he debited to the colonial government. Upon investigation, it was decided to dismiss Hutton from colonial service.


Voltaic Regroupment Movement

Voltaic Regroupment Movement(in French: "Mouvement de Regroupement Voltaïque"), was a political party in Upper Volta. It contested the 1970 elections.


Mapungubwe


Stefanos Mengesha Seyoum

Prince Stefanos Mengesha Seyoum (also Estifanos Mangasha Seyum). Born on 24 October 1952 at the Haile Selassie I Hospital is a member of the Imperial Family of Ethiopia. He serves as the Imperial Chancellor of Imperial Ethiopian Order of Saint Mary of Zion. He is the son of "Ras" Mengesha Seyoum and Princess Aida Desta. Through his father he is a great-great grandson of Emperor Yohannes IV, and through his mother, he is a great-grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Royal Confraternity of San Teotonio.
He was educated at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is an International Business Consultant and Director of the Canadian Royal Heritage Trust.


Manga Sewa

Manga Sewa (died 1884) was a Yalunka paramount chief in British Sierra Leone who blew up a magazine and much of Falaba, the capital of Solimana, killing himself, his family and other leaders, rather than let it fall to Samori Toure's army.
Early life and career.
Manga Sewa was born in Falaba, Solimana chiefdom, in the Northern Province of British Sierra Leone to Yalunka parents. His father was a Yalunka paramount chief of Solimana, a prosperous chieftaincy. Its capital, Falaba, was on the rich trading routes leading to the coast. Manga Sewa's father had a number of wives and dozens of children.
Touré 1884 attack.
Manga Sewa became paramount chief of Solimana, a state in Northern Province. He was from one of the ruling families of the chieftaincy and would have been chief for life.
In the Beyla region of Guinea, Samori Toure (c.1830-1900), of the Touré clan, had expanded his influence; by 1878 he proclaimed himself "faama" (military leader) of his own Wassoulou Empire. In 1884 he took the title of "Almany," commander of believers. In February of that year, he swept into north-east Sierra Leone, with his Mandinka army, bent on conquest.
N'fa Ali, Toure's general, destroyed many villages in the Yalunka Kingdom and ultimately laid siege to the capital, Falaba. The Yalunka held out for five months and, in the end, were reduced to eating rats and the boiled leather of their sandals and mats. Sewa finally sent his younger brother, Dugu, on a secret mission to obtain aid from the Kuranko people, but Dugu was captured and executed on a nearby hill in full view of his country-men.
Manga Sewa called his elders, his wives, and the community into the powder magazine. He plunged a flaming torch into the great barrels of gunpowder. An enormous explosion shook the town, and the Mandinka breached the walls and charged inside.
Toure opened contacts with the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone. He also built a working relationship with the Fulbe (Fula) jihad state of Fouta Djallon. He sold slaves to that state in exchange for cattle, horses, and, most importantly, French rifles. Later he was integral to resistance to French colonial efforts.


Kahare

Kahare was a Nkoya kingdom in what is today Kasempa District, Zambia.


Etsu Bello Maliki

Bello Dan Maliki (1887- 1926) was the 8th Etsu Nupe "King of Nupe" from 1916 to 1926.
In 1918 he was the first monarch to bought a car as of the time road was not constructed in Bida and all community in Nigeria and the emirate  benefited from the car.
He belong to the Usman Zaki ruling house of Fulani Nupe rulings dynasty.


Princess Romanework

Princess Romanework Haile Selassie, sometimes spelt as Romane Work Haile Selassie (died in Turin on 14 October 1940), was the eldest child of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia by his first wife, "Woizero" Altayech.
Biography.
The English translation of the emperor's autobiography makes no mention of Princess Romanework, or the Emperor's previous marriage, although he writes in the original Amharic version his grief at learning of the death of his eldest daughter in captivity at Turin just days after his restoration to his throne following the defeat of the Italian fascist occupation. The name of Princess Romanework's mother mentioned by Mockler- ""Woizero" Altayech"- may be a nickname Princess Romanework's mother used, as the contemporary source, Blata Merse Hazen Wolde Kirkos (a prominent nobleman and important figure in both the Imperial court and within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church), mentions Princess Romanework's mother "Woizero" Woinetu Amede as attending the wedding of her daughter to "Dejazmatch" Beyene Merid in his book about the years before the Italian occupation.
The Princess married Major-General "Dejazmach" Beyene Merid, governor of Bale, and they had four sons, two of whom "Dejazmach" Merid Beyene and "Dejazmach" Samson Beyene, survived to adulthood.
Princess Romanework was captured by the Italians and interned with many other noble Ethiopians on the prison island of Asinara, off the coast of Sardinia as one of the Ethiopian POWs during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. However, her husband Beyene Merid remained at liberty and was a leader of the resistance against the Italian occupation of Ethiopia from 1936 until he too was captured, to be executed in 1937. Falling ill, Romanework was moved to the "Ospedale Maggiore" in Turin, where she died on 14 October 1940, probably of tuberculosis.
After the end of the Second World War, the Italians were asked to return Princess Romanework's body, and those of her two younger sons to Ethiopia, where they would be interred in the Imperial family's crypt in the Holy Trinity Cathedral at Addis Ababa. However this was never actually carried out and the Princess remains buried in a cemetery outside of Turin. Her surviving sons were raised by her father the Emperor Haile Selassie, and her line is currently represented by her grandson Sebastyanos Beyene, who lives in Abingdon, England.


Kalokol Pillar Site

The Kalokol Pillar Site, registered as GcJh3 and also known as Namoratunga II, is an archaeological site on the west side of Lake Turkana in Kenya dating to the Pastoral Neolithic. Namoratunga means "people of stone" in the Turkana language. The site was originally believed to have been created around 300 BC, but recent excavations have yielded an older radiocarbon sample dating to 2398 +/- 44 years BC.
Background.
The site is easily visible on the Lodwar – Kalokol roadside, from the road. The Kalokol Pillar Site contains 19 basalt pillars which are surrounded by a circular formation of stones. A number of other pillar sites surround Lake Turkana as well and date to the same time period; Lothagam North and Manemanya, for example, are communal cemeteries. These sites were likely built by the region's earliest herders. Another burial site with stone cairns, Namoratunga I, also known as Lokori, does not have stone pillars.
Archaeologists Mark Lynch and L.H. Robbins described the Kalokol Pillar Site in 1978 and identified it as a possible archaeoastronomical site. Lynch believed the basalt pillars tie the constellations or stars to the 12-month 354-day lunar calendar of Cushitic speakers of southern Ethiopia. The pillars were said to align with seven star systems: Triangulum, Pleiades, Bellatrix, Aldebaran, Central Orion, Saiph, and Sirius. Other archaeologists have reanalyzed the archaeoastronomical evidence, and an older radiocarbon date from the Kalokol Pillar Site now calls into question these interpretations.


Kwiambana

Kwiambana is a ruined settlement in what is now the Kwiambana Forest Reserve. In November 1995 the Nigerian government submitted the site to UNESCO as a potential World Heritage Site.
The Kwiambana ruins were built on and around a granite inselberg with two peaks.
They were protected by a ditch and a bank between five and seven meters high, topped by a rubble wall.
In areas where the wall passes over bare rock, it is built of mud block with loopholes.
Around the hillside there are some low free-stone walls.
Within the enclosed area are several well-preserved mud structures, and several level sites where buildings may once have stood.
The walls were constructed of natural coursed rubble, with alternating layers of stone and subsoil, and have resisted erosion.
The settlement, which appears to be ancient, was destroyed during the Fulani Jihad in the early 19th century.


Battle of Lougou

The French Voulet-Chanoine Mission, led by the captains Paul Voulet and Julien Chanoine, had been dispatched in 1898 to Africa by the French government with the mission to conquer the territories between the Niger River and Lake Chad and join in uniting French territories in West Africa. After leaving French Sudan in January 1899, they ruthlessly subjugated the native peoples, meeting little resistance.
One of the few to resist was the sorcerer queen Sarraounia, ruler of the "Azna", a pagan people in a long Islamized region. Determined to bar the expedition's road, Sarraounia wrote to Voulet a provocative letter full of insults; the French took up the challenge, and on 15 April left the camp, marching towards the villages of Lougou and Tougana, where Sarraounia had concentrated her forces.
The day after, at 6:00, started what Lt. Paul Joalland called "one of the hottest moments of the campaign". The French found the enemy assembled on the field, while women and children had already retired themselves in a small thick and almost impenetrable bush where the Azna defended themselves when facing a superior enemy. After the Azna had started to disperse under the French gunfire, their lines broke when hit by three grapeshot balls; the Azna then retreated in the bush, where the thick foliage partly protected the natives from the gunfire.
The French felt that if left there, the Azna may attack them at night; so it was decided to assault the bush, but being careful to leave a way of escape for the Azna open, so to avoid a too deadly confrontation that could cost too much blood. The French met a strong resistance, killing two riflemen and wounding four, but were at the end successful and forced the Azna to escape.
The battle had protracted itself till 13:00, and among the French tirailleurs four were killed and six wounded, with 7,000 cartridges consumed.


2020 Ivorian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Ivory Coast on 31 October 2020. Incumbent president Alassane Ouattara was re-elected with 95% of the vote amidst an opposition boycott.
Background.
In January 2017 incumbent President Alassane Ouattara of the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) announced that he would not run again after being president for two terms (2010–2015 and 2015–2020). On 5 March 2020, he publicly reiterated his intent not to be candidate during an address to Congress. Ouattara imposed Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly as the RHDP candidate of the ruling party over other potential candidates, including Vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan, who later resigned. However, in May Coulibaly was hospitalised for heart complications and had a stent fitted. He returned to Ivory Coast on 2 July, but died six days later after falling ill during a meeting of the Council of Ministers. The event left the RHDP without a candidate, and Ouattara considered putting forward Defense Minister Hamed Bakayoko, before renouncing due to alleged links to drug trafficking. In late July 2020, Ouattara rescinded his initial decision and announced his candidacy for a third term. The candidacy was made possible despite his previous terms as they did not count toward the two-term limit in the new constitution introduced in 2016, the elections having taken place under a different constitution.
Ouattara argued that because a new constitution was promulgated after a constitutional referendum in 2016, term limits (normally 2 for a President) were effectively reset, which would allow him to run for a controversial third term. Opposition parties argued that the move was unconstitutional, and some protests ensued, but Ouattara was allowed to run again regardless by the Independent Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court. Despite seeing good economic growth, critics have argued that vast inequality remains, and that Ouattara is developing authoritarian tendencies. Despite opposition parties calling for a boycott, two of his opponents have allowed their names to remain on the ballot (Kouadio Konan Bertin did not support the boycott).
Electoral system.
The President of Ivory Coast will be elected for a five-year term using the two-round system. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a second round will be held.
Candidates.
Former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, who was living in France, announced that he would contest the elections. However, on 29 April 2020 he was sentenced "in absentia" to 20 years in prison and given a $7.6 million (£6.1 million) fine. Soro's lawyers claimed this was an attempt to prevent him taking part in the election.
On 14 September, the Constitutional Council approved four candidates; Ouattara, former president Henri Konan Bédié from the PDCI, former prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan and Kouadio Konan Bertin, a dissident from the PDCI. Former president Laurent Gbagbo and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, both critics of incumbent Ouattara, were barred as they were facing criminal charges. The ruling led to violent protests.
Conduct.
The opposition announced that it would not recognise the validity of the election, saying it was "marred by many irregularities and a low turnout," and called for "the start of a civilian transition in order to create the conditions for a fair, transparent and inclusive election". However, several members of the opposition have had disagreements, with the PDCI, Guillaume Soro, Simone Gbagbo, and Pascal Affi N'Guessan saying that a transitional government should immediately be named, while the FPI party argued that it was too early to form one in the current environment, saying a civil disobedience movement needed to force Ouattara to negotiate in a legal manner. Several localities, including several in Yamoussoukro, had seen traffic prevented from reaching some neighborhoods, and that the entry points to the city were blocked by barricades. Election monitors from ECOWAS had to travel by helicopter to reach Abidjan due to difficulties entering the city. Opposition supporters attacked several motorcades of pro-government figures, in some cases shooting at them, or setting vehicles on fire. Several people were also killed in clashes in Toumodi, as well as Tiébissou. Indigo, an Ivorian NGO backed by the National Democratic Institute, estimated that 23% of polling stations were shuttered, and 6% had to close early before the counting process and announcement of results were completed.
Results.
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Unity for Democracy and Justice

The Unity for Democracy and Justice was an Ethiopian political party. It was founded by Birtukan Midekssa on June 20, 2008, based on the parties that constituted the Coalition for Unity and Democracy. It was a major component in the eight-party Medrek coalition, the largest opposition coalition in the 2010 election. In May 2019, the party merged with the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice, bringing an end to the party.
Overview.
The Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJP), commonly known as Andenet (Amharic for Unity), is an Ethiopian national opposition political party established by former leaders and members of Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUD). Andenet is a short form of UDJP's Amharic name, Andenet ledemocracy ena lefitih. It was formed by former CUD leaders and members advocating for free and fair Ethiopian elections in the then-upcoming 2010 elections. The UDJP was chaired and vice-chaired by Birtukan Midekssa and Yakob Haile-Mariam, respectively. Both were detained and sentenced to life in prison before they were controversially pardoned on October 6, 2008 and September 2007, respectively. Their arrests were considered by Ethiopian political opposition parties as a Majority Government attempt to block fair and free election and democratic process.
Current performances.
UDJP was formed with 42 parliament members and the representatives of former CUD leaders and members on June 17, 2008. Support organizations abroad. Members representing woredas in Ethiopia were also in attendance. This meeting was supposed to be held at Imperial Hotel on June 13, 2008, but due to government problems, it was postponed. The meeting was later held in a tent in the compound of the party. After 6 hours of discussion, 60 permanent and 15 temporary central committee members were elected out of 105 nominated representatives. The same meeting elected the party's 18 executives (of which 6 are top executives): The chair was Midekssa.
UDJP was formed on June 17, 2008. On December 15, 2009, the National Executive Committee of UDJ made the following assignments and reassignments of duties:
On the same day, the bylaws and manifesto that the party adopted from its predecessor, CUD, was reviewed and adopted. After three reviews by NEBE and the corresponding amendments and explanation by UDJP, the chairwoman obtained the registration certificate of the party.
UDJP has support organizations on all continents. It has 34 offices in Ethiopian regions of Amhara, Oromia, Southern state, Afar, Harari and Addis Ababa.


Andries de Wet

Andries Gerhardus de Wet (district of Carnarvon, Cape Colony, July 5, 1876 – Windhoek, South West Africa, April 26, 1930) was a South African soldier and founder of the Vrykorps in German South West Africa which tried to overthrow the British-aligned government of the Union of South Africa to establish German rule.
Early life and education.
De Wet was the son of the field cornet Pieter Gerhardus de Wet and his wife, Magdalena Judith Keet, and a cousin of General Christiaan de Wet (Pieter was the brother of Christiaan's father, Jacobus Ignatius de Wet). His education began at a farm school followed by primary school in Carnarvon, after which he studied with A. G. Visser at the Memorial School of the Huguenots in Dal Josafat, where they became close friends. After graduation, he returned to his hometown to farm, though according to one source, he was hired by the Cape Colony government at a young age as a plunge dip inspector of cattle.
Second Boer War.
In 1895, he moved to the South African Republic, where he and his friend Koos Jooste made a name for themselves as record-setting champion cyclists on the Pretoria-to-Cape-Town race. In September 1899, he and Jooste helped Daniel Theron establish his cyclist scout corps. In December 1899, once he was promoted to a lieutenant, De Wet was ordered by Theron at the head of 25 men to the front at Colesberg and from there to Stormberg, Northern Cape. De Wet and Jooste criticized the government for not stationing troops in Colesberg and advocated an expedition to the northwestern districts of the Cape to foment anti-colonial rebellion and thereby cut off the British connection to the South. Initially refusing his counsel, the SAR government eventually adopted his plan.
De Wet accompanied the expedition led by Gen. P. J. Liebenberg and Comm. Lucas Steenkamp, which set out by the end of January 1900. During February and March 1900, De Wet was active in organizing revolts in Prieska, Upington, and Kenhardt, and was promoted to commandant. The surrender of Gen.Piet Cronjé at Paardeberg on February 27, 1900, and the fall of Bloemfontein on March 13, 1900 obligated Republican forces to retreat quickly south of the Orange River. De Wet then helped defend the Orange Free State from British forces. He joined the Afrikaner Cavalry Corps when Comm. Abraham Malan founded it.
Exile and return.
With the dissolution of his unit, De Wet sailed for Europe out of Delagoa Bay. A serious surgery left him out of active service but he often spoke publicly about the war, championing a road through German South West Africa to help Boer representatives in Europe supply Boer troops in South Africa. By July 1901, he was well enough to return to the SAR with the help of its envoy, Willem Johannes Leyds. De Wet continued to function as the intermediary between Boer leadership at home and abroad. After a difficult trip through German South West Africa, he joined the commanders in the Cape in October 1901 and served on the staff of Gen. Jan Smuts, until a serious injury put him out of commission once more.
At the end of the war, refusing to submit to British authority, he fled with Gen. Manie Maritz, Com. (later Gen.) Edwin A. Conroy, Com. Jacob Petrus Neser, and High Com. Hendrik Lategan to German South West Africa. From there, they sailed out from Swakopmund on July 30, 1902. Hugging the west coast of Africa, they called port in Victoria, Kamerun (then another German colony, where they boarded another ship traveling via Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Madeira, and Southampton to Hamburg, where he received a hero's welcome on German soil on August 29. The party travelled by train to Berlin where they hoped to meet their heroes, generals Christiaan de Wet, Koos de la Rey, and Louis Botha on the latter's European tour. However, the latter Boer generals would only visit the German capital afterwards, and therefore the company went to the Netherlands where Neser rented them rooms with money borrowed from Cape loyalist Jan du Plessis. While in a hospital, De Wet began and soon completed a book on his wartime experiences. The sources are unclear as to whether this is the same as "Die Buren in der Kapkolonie im Kriege mit England" ("Neighbors in Cape Colony at War with England," published in Munich, which he wrote Van Doomik and Du Plessis.
De Wet, who accepted German citizenship, was already beginning to organize massive Boer settlement in German Southwest Africa. He had already negotiated with the German government for land where Boer refugees could live, but was stymied by lack of funds. In 1903, he returned to farm in South West Africa, still unwilling to live under the British flag, and became a leader in the local Afrikaner community.
World War I.
With the outbreak of World War I, De Wet enlisted in the Freikorps on September 9, 1914 in Windhoek, hoping among other things to free his homeland South Africa from British rule. Although the local Freikorps were short-lived, there was no comparable unit in any other German colonies. The all-volunteer corps was recruited from the already large Afrikaner population. The Freikorps's goal was to support the Maritz rebellion that arose after the Union government sided with Great Britain at the outbreak of war in August 1914. The rebels strongly opposed the Union Defense Force (UDF) invasion of German South West Africa and saw British forces' diversion to other fields by the broader war as an opportunity to restore the independence of the Boer republics.
The Freikorps operated independently but under the aegis of the German Imperial Forces, the so-called "Schutztruppe". The German governor, Theodor Seitz, fully supported the Freikorps' efforts from a strategic point of view, believing the Boers could defeat Botha's government and provide a ready German ally in South Africa. Armed with ammunition, uniforms, materiel, and military support from the German government in Windhoek, the Freikorps joined the rebels in the Northwest Cape in their siege of Upington. De Wet journeyed with the Boer troops from Windhoek to Nakop, serving as captain and commander of the Freikorps regiment sent to join Gen. Maritz there, but soon resigned and was replaced by Cmdt. Stoffel Schoeman.
Quickly and poorly trained for numerous battles against the much better equipped UDF, the Freikorps ultimately failed to gain the upper hand in Cape Colony. The members lacked discipline, the rebel leaders often fought among themselves, and contact with the German commanders on the other side of the border was almost completely lost. The last rebel units surrendered to the UDF on February 2 and February 3, 1915, and Seitz officially ordered the unit disbanded on February 15, effective March 1. After the rebellion was suppressed and the slight Freikorps incursion into the Northwest Cape ended, Botha's army had little trouble defeating the Schutztruppe and capturing Windhoek on May 9 without opposition. Only two months later, the German surrender was signed to the north, in Khorab.
In South West Africa.
De Wet returned to his farm and soon began participating in local politics. He helped found the United National South West Party and advocated in 1928 for the repatriation of the Dorslandtrekkers from Portuguese soil to South West Africa.
Personal life.
His marriage in 1903 in German South West Africa to Elisabeth Hagedom (or Hagdorn) (to whom he had been engaged in Germany a year before his return to Africa) produced four children. After her death, he married Elisabeth Catherina Ackerman, whom he later divorced but with whom he had a son. He was survived by his third wife, Anna Jacoba van Heerden, and was buried in Windhoek. A street southeast of downtown Windhoek was named for him.
External links.
(af) Afrikaner History, Namibia. URL accessed 3 October 2015.


Arusha Accords (Burundi)

The Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, widely known as the Arusha Accords (), was a transitional peace treaty which brought the Burundian Civil War to an end. The agreement, negotiated in Arusha, Tanzania under the mediation of former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, were signed on 28 August 2000.
The Accords were based on four points of agreement:
The central tenets of the Arusha Accords were subsequently added to the Constitution of Burundi.


Roelof de Man

Roelof de Man (1634–1663) was a Dutch colonial administrator in South Africa.
He was born in Culemborg (formerly also spelled Culenborg or Kuilenburg or Kuylenburgh), Netherlands in 1634 and grew up in the same walled village and era as Dutch Explorers/Founders Jan van Riebeek (1619-1677) and Anthony van Diemen (1593-1645).
Jan van Riebeek commanded the initial Dutch settlement fleet of 3 ships (Dromedaris, Reijger and Goede Hoop) which in 1651 travelled to the great southern oceans, landing on 6 April 1652 to establish the settlement of today's Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope.
Roelof de Man joined Van Riebeek at Cape Town on 5 January 1654 as the colony bookkeeper, sailing from Vlie, Netherlands on 23 August 1653 on the ship Naerden together with 4 other ships (Vreede, Lam, Draeck and Calff) - the latter two arriving sometime after the first three.
Roelof's ancestors and family held prominent positions in the Culemborg community such as Alderman (Cornelis de Man in 1492 and 1507), Mayor (Aert de Man 1539-41 and Roelof de Man 1599), Churchmaster (Roelof de Man 1542-43 and Willem de Man 1561-62) and Postmaster (Otto de Man 1580-81).
South Africa.
Roelof went on to become Second-In-Charge of the new colony. He was one of the witnesses at the baptism of Krotoa (Eva van die Kaap) on 3 May 1662. Former 20th Century South African President F.W. de Klerk is a claimed descendant of Krotoa.
Roelof died on 6 March 1663 and at that time had as part of his possessions 3 Angolan slaves whom he had acquired from Jan van Riebeek in 1662
The Central South African Railways recognised Roelof's contribution to the settlement of South Africa by naming one of the South African Class B 0-6-4T steam locomotives in his honour. Between 1893 and 1898 one hundred and seventy-five 46 Tonner 0-6-4T tank steam locomotives were placed in service by the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij - NZASM) in the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. The "Roelof de Man" was built in 1898 and carried Works Number 2950 with NZASM number 235. Picture shows Works Number 2945 NZASM number 230 "Jan Wintervogel" that was part of the same build order.


Gikuyu, Embu, and Meru Association

The Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association (GEMA) was an organisation in Kenya created to presumably advance the social and political needs of the Eastern Kenya Bantu people of Gikuyu, Embu, and Meru who though are closely related linguistically and culturally but don't have common mythologies or history. It was founded in 1971, with an economic arm, GEMA Holdings.
GEMA was formally registered by Attorney General Charles Njonjo by the instructions of president Jomo Kenyatta. Njonjo himself became an opponent of the group and in 1976 charged some of its members, including Kihika Kimani and Njenga Karume, with treason: the order was soon rejected by the president, Jomo Kenyatta. Other prominent GEMA figures included Njoroge Mungai, Jackson Angaine and Paul Ngei.
GEMA was formally banned in 1981, although it is believed to have continued to function as "Agricultural and Industrial Holdings Ltd".
Since 2003 there have been several attempts to revive the organisation, with two particular groups, MEGA and Transcentury, widely perceived to have roots in the old GEMA association. Current chairman is retired bishop Lawi Imathiu.
Etymology.
A cross-section of Kikuyu politicians with their roots in Kiambu County launched Gema in the late 1960s when opposition to President Kenyatta's rule peaked especially from Luo Nyanza following the 1966 falling out with his former ally and vice-president Jaramogi Odinga Oginga. The subsequent assassination of then Economic Planning minister and Kanu Secretary General Tom Mboya in 1969 worsened matters.
In the backlash that resulted from the two events, central Kenya elite, including Njenga Karume and former Nakuru North MP Kihika Kimani, former Defence Minister Njoroge Mungai, former State Minister Mbiyu Koinange, and the president's nephew Ngengi Muigai felt there was need for a central association bringing together the fractious Kikuyu. Gema was officially registered in 1971, with an economic arm called Gema Holdings that soon set out to acquire vast real estate, including an expansive farm at Kasarani and plots in the Nairobi Central Business District.
Virtually every other senior civil service and parastatal head from the region subscribed to Gema and President Kenyatta is said to have specifically ordered a hesitant Attorney General Charles Njonjo to immediately register the association that also enjoyed the patronage of Lands Minister Jackson Harvester Angaine who exercised considerable sway among the Meru. Others supporting the association included minister Jeremiah Nyagah, who was strategic in mobilising the Embu. Gema is accused of playing a prominent role in mobilising the community support in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a period characterised by massive swearing of oaths throughout central Kenya for members to remain loyal to the Kenyatta regime.
But being composed mostly of educated and sophisticated elite, the association was, however, careful to front an image of disinterest in the illegal and divisive activity. With the Luo threat dissolved and most members toeing the line, Gema soon found its next target. Almost clocking ten years in the vice presidency, Daniel arap Moi was supposedly seen as a soft target for the hard-line Gema, which having gone through the tougher motions of diffusing Jaramogi, Mboya and JM. But Njonjo, who was to be a hard nut to crack, in 1976 warned Gema heavyweights he would not hesitate to open treason charges against them for imagining the death of the president Kenyatta.
The warning ended countrywide tours organised by Kihika, Mungai, Karume, Ngengi, and others who had been pushing a 'Change the Constitution' crusade to bar Moi from ascending to the presidency in the event of Kenyatta's death. When Mzee Kenyatta died in his sleep in 1978, Njonjo convened a Cabinet meeting in which Gema kingpins such as Koinange, Mungai, and Angaine had to watch their dream of retaining the presidency dissipate.
With the death of JM Kariuki and the scaring of Mwai Kibaki from the Kenyatta succession yarn around 1976, Gema insiders' vow of preventing the presidential standard from crossing River Chania had sort of come to pass as President Moi took over the reins of power. In 2003, the surviving Gema kingpins watched in horror as this vow was shattered and President Kibaki ascended to power in a competitive, but peaceful transition. Moi had formally banned Gema in 1980 together with a plethora of tribal cocoons that run, among others, football teams.
Like the Abaluhya Football Club which metamorphosed into AFC Leopards or the Luo Union, which was renamed Re-Union, Gema, the elite financial club continued to function as Agricultural and Industrial Holdings Ltd among its properties being the Clay Works Factory on Thika Road and the surrounding ranch. This ranch has since been subdivided into plots and is now home to the fledgling middle class Clay Works Estate straddling the Kasarani-Mwiki Road and Thika Road. Like the proverbial family hut in a Gikuyu compound, smoke rises from the thick chimneys at Clay Works Ltd daily.


Ntare IV of Burundi

Ntare IV Rutaganzwa Rugamba was the king of Burundi from 1796 to 1850. He was the son of king Mwambutsa I Mbariza.
He achieved the greatest expansion in the history of Burundi, doubling the territory.


Owa Ataiyero

Owa Ataiyero was the paramount ruler of the Ijesha, a sub-ethnicity of the Yoruba, from 1901 to his death in 1920.
During his reign the first Christian church was built and opened in 1903, the first telephone service was started in 1906, and the first motor vehicles drove the roads of Ilesa in 1907.


Clarence Oldfield

Clarence Winston Oldfield (27 November 1899 in Durban – 14 December 1981) was a South African athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
He competed for South Africa in the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the Silver medal with his team mates Harry Davel, Jack Oosterlaak and Bevil Rudd.


National Union for the Defence of Democracy

National Union for Democracy and Development (in French: "Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Développement") was a political party in Upper Volta. The UNDD is led by Hermann Yaméogo, the son of former president Maurice Yaméogo.
In the 1978 presidential elections UNDD launched Macaire Ouédraogo as its candidate. Ouédraogo got around 250,000 votes in the first round (2nd place) and 552,956 votes (43.8%) in the second. In the parliamentary elections held same year UNDD came second.
In 2005 the party, refounded took part in the presidential election of 13 November, where its candidate Hermann Yaméogo won 0.76% of the popular vote.


List of rulers of the Gurma Mossi state of Piela

List of Rulers of the Gurma Mossi state of Piela.
Territory located in present-day Burkina Faso.
Pielabedo = "Ruler"


King Okaikoi

King OkaiKoi was a warrior king who formed the Akwashong, supreme military command, which provided the basis of renewal of Ga-Dangme military power.
History.
Okaikoi was the son of Mampong Okai and Dode Akabi. King Okaikoi signed a treaty with Denmark for a permanent trading post-fort Christiansborg on August 18, 1661. He ceded the beach of Osu to the Danes to start the building of the Christiansborg.
His own generals eventually betrayed him when they deserted him in a war against the Akwamus. Okaikoi cursed the deserters and blessed the loyal generals. After he finally took his own life. The death was the beginning of a period of uncertainty in Ga-Dangme history. Women and children, thousand of them were evacuated from Ayawaso because of his courage. His death marked the end of the Ayawaso period; majority of the Ga's retired to Ancho or Little Popo and the others resettled or joined kinsmen along the coastal strip. Trades were increasing with Europeans which had rendered the coast or Little Accra (Ga Mashi) attractive more than Ayawaso.
Prince Ashangmong continued a guerrilla warfare against the Akwamu driving them to Fanti. Prince Ashangmong was the son of Okai Yai, the brother of Okaikoi. The prince then retired with all the Ga from Labadi to Ningo to the Little Popo.


OVGS 2nd Class 2-6-0ST


List of rulers of the Bariba state of Kandi

List of Rulers of the Bariba (Borgu) state of Kandi.
Territory located in present-day Benin.
Saka = "Ruler".


United Somali Congress

The United Somali Congress (USC) was one of the major rebel organizations in Somalia. Formed in 1987, it played a leading role in the ouster of the government of Siad Barre in 1991, and became a target of the Unified Task Force campaign in 1993. Following infighting, the USC later splintered into smaller groups. By 2000, with the establishment of a Transitional National Government (TNG), a process of disarmament was put in motion and some moderate ex-USC leaders were incorporated into the new interim administration.
History.
With its base centered on the Hawiye clan, the United Somali Congress was founded in Rome in January 1987. Its military wing was formed in late 1987 in Ethiopia, and led by General Mohamed Farrah Aidid until his demise in 1996. He was succeeded by his son Hussein Mohamed Farrah, by which time the Aidid faction of the organization was also known as the Somali National Alliance (SNA), often the USC/SNA.
The USC was formed in response to severe acts against the Hawiye tribe by the government of Mohamed Siaad Barre. During the period of 1987 to 1991, President Barre launched massive crackdowns and use of force against the Hawiye in their homeland in Southern and Central Somalia. The most notable incidents were in Central Somalia in the area near Galkacyo in November 1989 which resulted in the deaths of many civilians at the hands of the Somali National Army. These mass deaths resulted in the future USC Chairman, General Mohammed Farah Aidid quitting his post as Somali Ambassador to India and joined the USC training camps in Mustahiil, Ethiopia.
Military successes by the USC would be instrumental in bringing about the ouster of the Barre government on January 26, 1991, but the USC failed to manage a political settlement with its rivals, the SNM, SPM and the SSDF, and also fragmented within its own leadership after Ali Mahdi Muhammad was declared interim President.
Upon the naming of Ali Mahdi Muhammed as President, the USC split into two. The USC/SNA emerged under Mohammed Aidid and the United Somali Congress/Somali Salvation Alliance (USC/SSA) of Ali Mahdi Muhammed. The USC/SNA came under the control of Mohamed Aidid's son, Hussein Mohamed Farah Aidid after the father's death in 1996. The USC/SSA eventually came under control of the Deputy Chairman, Musa Sudi Yalahow.
Both USC factions made peace with each other in August 1998, though this caused a violent split between Yalahow and Ali Mahdi Muhammed, and fighting continued in Mogadishu. Eventually, both Hussein Aidid and Yalahow reconciled and joined the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) in 2002, in opposition to the Transitional National Government (TNG). This caused a rift between the USC/SSA supporters of Yalahow and Omar Muhamoud Finnish (also known as Mahmud Muhammad Finish), who continued to support the TNG. Fighting between the two caused many deaths in Mogadishu.
In 2001, Hussein Aidid founded the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), a new armed opposition group. Growing out of the Somali National Alliance, it was originally formed to oppose the nascent Transitional National Government (TNG) and the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) in the 2001–2004 period. However, it eventually settled its differences with the government in 2004, with some moderate leaders incorporated into the new interim administration.


Archie Forbes

Archibald "Archie" Peter Sturrock Forbes CBE (5 May 1913 – 27 January 1999) was a Scottish colonial officer who was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative Development in Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
Biography.
Forbes was born in Delwood, Saskatchewan, Canada, the son of Elizabeth Lilian Forbes (née Campbell) and Alexander Menzies Forbes. His family moved to Scotland and he was educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He studied for a BSc at the University of Edinburgh, then going on to Trinity College, Cambridge to take a Diploma in Agriculture, and finally the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago (Trop Ag).
He also worked with Oxfam between 1963 and 1985, serving as a Trustee and Member of the Administration Committee.
Colonial service.
He joined the Colonial Service and in 1937 became an agriculture officer in Nyasaland. He was promoted to Senior Agriculture Officer in 1946, becoming Chief Agriculture Officer in 1953. During this time he worked on the Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme. He became Deputy Director of Agriculture in 1954, Director of Agriculture in 1958, and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative Development in 1960. In the same year, he was appointed CBE.
When Tanganyika achieved independence in 1963, he undertook consultancy work in Africa and Asia until 1978. He consulted for the World Bank, the Food and Agricultural Organisation, the United Nations, Nordic Engineering and natural resources technology firms.
Personal life.
He married Mary Manning (daughter of Captain Robert William Manning) on 10 June 1939. Together they had two children. His daughter Heather was married to Peter Loxton, son of Bill Loxton. He died in 1999 in Winfrith Newburgh, Dorset.


Alowolodu

Owa Obokun Adimula Alowolodu was a Yoruba Oba in the Ijesha Kingdom, Nigeria from 1893 - 1894. It was during his reign that the Ijesha war leader Balogun Ogedengbe returned from his exile in Iwo. Reverend Oyebode also arrived in Ilesa as the first Africa Church Mission Society (C.M.S) pastor to be posted to Ilesa.


Mwanawina I

Mwanawina I was a "Litunga" (king or chief) of Barotseland in Africa.
Biography.
Mwanawina was the youngest son of Prince Mbanga, 1st Chief of Nalolo, and brother to the king Yubya I. His mother was princess Notulu.
He succeeded on the death of his brother.
His wives were:
He died at the village of the Induna Namoyamba.
His sons were kings Mwananyanda Liwale and Mulambwa Santulu and princes Yutuluwakaole (crown prince) and Inyambo.
His grandsons were prince Mwanang'ono and kings Mubukwanu and Silumelume.


Nsit-Ubium

Nsit-Ubium is in the south south of Nigeria and is a Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
People.
Nsit Ubium consists of two Clans —
Nsit and Ubium; with 31 villages in
Nsit clan and 33 in Ubium clan.
Traditionally, the two clans, Nsit and
Ubium, identify themselves along
ethnic lineage. Ubium has three
groups — Ise, Afaha and Ukat, while
Nsit is divided into Ibiakpan, Obotim,
Nduo Eduo and Afia Nsit groups. The
people are generally very hospitable,
knowledgeable and industrious.
Population.
Males Females TOTAL:
68,163 60,068 128,231
according to 2006 National Census
History.
Nsit Ubium Local Government
Area was carved out of the
then Etinan Local Government
on May 3, 1989 with its
headquarters at Ikot Edibon. In
September 1991, the present
Nsit Ibom Local Government
Area was carved out leaving
Nsit Ubium with its present two
clans — Nsit and Ubium with 65 recognised villages and some other villages which are in existence. It is located
at about 6 km East of Eket,
Okobo, Nsit Ibom, Etinan,
Ibesipko/Asutan and Nsit Atai
Local Government Areas. shears common
boundary with Nsit Ibom and Eket
Local government It is
well drained by the Qua Ibo
River which has tributaries
scattered in many locations in
the area.
Nsit Ubium covers a land mass
of 242.942 sq kin; and located
6 km East of Eket. The
topography of the Local
Government is undulating with
shallow depressions, dry
valleys and few rivers, which lie
far apart between the
predominant plains. Marshes
and swamps influenced by the
Qua Iboe River traverse a large
portion of the Local
Government Area. Nsit Ubium
is under Uyo Senatorial District in Akwa Ibom North East.