The News Review:

- Obasanjo tells Sierra Leoneans to focus on the good in Nigeria’s…
- Blair heads to Africa
- Laying down guitar riffs with Barmmy and Lus

Obasanjo tells Sierra Leoneans to focus on the good in Nigeria’s…
International Herald Tribune – May 27, 2007
Speaking on Saturday during a visit Sierra Leone's capital, Obasanjo praised his party's victories in Nigeria's state, presidential and parliamentary elections, saying there was a “need for continuity in development policies, and our party has brought about that continuity. ” Sierra Leone holds its own presidential and parliamentary elections on Aug. Obasanjo, a former military leader, was making a one-day, farewell tour of Sierra Leone and Liberia before handing over the Nigerian presidency on Tuesday to Umaru Yar'Adua, 56, seen as his hand-picked successor. Obasanjo has acknowledged that the April voting in Nigeria was imperfect. International observers said the elections were not credible, and the opposition alleged vote rigging.

Blair heads to Africa
Independent Online – May 27, 2007
But while widely praised for tackling poverty and debt, experts say he leaves behind a mixed legacy. Blair is expected in Sierra Leone and South Africa, both countries’ governments have said, although his Downing Street office refused to confirm his travel arrangements for security reasons. Families of Libyan children suffering from Aids said they, too, would meet the prime minister on a swing by the north African country. The 54-year-old premier, who has described the situation in Africa as a “scar on the conscience of the world”, has been credited by some with strong leadership and setting the agenda on Africa during his decade in power. But British charities believe his true legacy will be getting the world’s richest countries to fulfil the promises they made at the 2005 G8 summit to grant substantial debt relief and double aid to Africa by 2010. Oxfam highlighted earlier this month that of the $50-billion pledged in aid by 2010, 30 billion dollars was still outstanding…
Anti-arms trade campaigners say this and the shelving last year of a corruption probe of a BAE Systems weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, “undermines” Britain’s ability to lecture Africa on anti-graft issues. British companies have also been involved in illegal mineral exploitation in Africa and British-made arms have been found in conflict zones. Despite successes in Sierra Leone, Britain has shown little ability to change outcomes in places like Zimbabwe and Darfur without the support of other African governments, Williams told AFP. Too much faith was placed in “corrupt elites and leaders”, he said, highlighting how Ethiopian premier Meles Zenawi was on Blair’s Commission for Africa while at the same time clamping down hard on his political opponents. Both Williams and Africa analyst Alex Vines raised concerns about Foreign Office and DfID job cuts that were affecting the ability to deliver results on the ground, despite increased aid budgets. British policy has changed little over the last 10 years. Focus is still on Africa as a humanitarian problem and the need to tackle corrupt governments and civil servants, they said.

Laying down guitar riffs with Barmmy and Lus
Toronto Star – May 27, 2007
I ran to get the boys out of the music room to tell me what it was. "Oh, this is the genital mutilation woman," said Barmmy Boy, "you know, from one of the secret societies. " He said that, in Sierra Leone, secret societies continue to thrive, and that the creature’s job was to recruit young girls into its fold. There’d been a movement to try and abolish the practice of genital mutilation – many girls had died from the procedure, often conducted with nothing more than a rusty blade – but politicians were slow to react, fearing the loss of voter support in the provinces. I followed Barmmy and Lus into the music room, where their song was ready for playback. I brought out my guitar and stood over Barmmy’s shoulder, listening to the tune. It was a thundering track, thick and busy with jumpy rhythms and hard, electronic percussion.