The News Review:

- Obasanjo has some advice for Sierra Leone
- FLASHBACK! From A Sierra Leonean to Obasanjo
- KAWAYDO to seek war victims’ aid in Sierra Leone
- ISPR-International Peacekeeping Day today: Pakistan becomes forerunner…

Obasanjo has some advice for Sierra Leone
Independent Online – May 28, 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 August 11. 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.

FLASHBACK! From A Sierra Leonean to Obasanjo
Awareness Times – May 28, 2007
Obasanjo and the Peoples Democratic Party on behalf of my self, my family and my country, Sierra Leone. It should not surprise Nigerians to read that many Sierra Leoneans have spent the last few months preceeding these monumental elections [in Nigeria] with the same state of excitement that many Nigerians have found themselves in. Ever since General Abachas military forage into Sierra Leone in 1997, Sierra Leoneans have found our present destiny irretrievably inter-twinned with that of our African siblings in Nigeria. As a result of this, many of us had our eyes glued to the Nigerian Democratic Transition. I made it my duty as pro-tem Chairman of The VOICES here in Washington DC, USA to attend every single meeting called by a visiting Nigerian presidential candidate. I also attended all the symposiums and public meetings organised by American institutes such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies. I found time to constantly bother the ever-patient James Medugu of the Nigerian Embassy here for the times and dates of any event called up that would feature a presidential candidate…
Olusegun Obasanjo, the retired General. The other presidential candidates had sparse knowledge about the Sierra Leone crisis but when I sat down to talk to General Obasanjo and his wife last year, I was amazed at the clarity with which they discussed Sierra Leones problems. I was so impressed with their knowledge of Sierra Leone that I later remarked to Sierra Leones Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier-General Maxwell Khobe, that General Obasanjo was almost a Sierra Leonean himself. Long before the international community finally decided that only dialogue and more dialogue could resolve the crisis back home in Sierra Leone, General Obasanjo, himself a retired military officer had opined that only talks and not a military adventure between the different factions in Sierra Leone can resolve the crisis. Looking back on General Obasanjos glowing record in resolving other conflicts on our continent from South Africa, Namibia, Angola to Sudan to Mozambique to Burundi, I have no doubt that with a President Obasanjo at the helm in Nigeria, my beloved land will soon enjoy an end to its senseless and brutal conflict. The ties between Sierra Leone and Nigeria date back hundreds of years. Many Sierra Leoneans like myself carry distinctly Nigerian names such as Chidi, Olayinka, Olusegun and more.

KAWAYDO to seek war victims’ aid in Sierra Leone
Awareness Times – May 28, 2007
Speaking with Executive Secretary of the organization, Francis Samura, at Kingtom on 24 May 2007, he noted that Kingtom War Affected Youth Development Organization was formed on the 18th March 2005, with the sole aim of helping people within Kingtom and others who are outside their communities, who were severely affected by the war. KWAYDO, he noted, has made requests to both local and international funding agencies to assist them financially in making their dream a reality. Samura revealed that: “We acquire funds through sponsored membership, and we have been lobbying through government parastatals for assistance, but to no avail”.

ISPR-International Peacekeeping Day today: Pakistan becomes forerunner…
Free with registration – PPI – Pakistan Press International – AccessMyLibrary.com – May 28, 2007
The history of Pakistan Armys commitment in peacekeeping can be traced from 1960 when Pakistani soldiers formed part of United Nations peacekeeping efforts in Congo. Once Again you are showing us the highest standards of Professionalism. The Pakistan Army in Sierra Leone has shown the world how peacekeeping should be done, was said by the U. S Ambassador in Sierra Leone Mr Peter Cheaves during his visit to Pakistan Contingent in year 2001. In the following years world.