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Rev. Madeline Coburn appealed to me to take a look at Reginald Clemmons' case, a Missouri death row inmate. Coburn is the
spiritual adviser to Clemmons. I agreed to interview Clemmons and do whatever I could to lend a helping hand, under the
condition that I had to be convinced there were flaws in the case. Not knowing much about the case, I did my research before the
scheduled interview with Reginald Clemmons to familiarize myself with the facts. I had a lot of questions that needed to be
answered by none other than Reginald Clemmons.
As I researched and listened to the troubling accounts of the Missouri death row inmate, Reginald Clemmons, I found the case
filled with many injustices, ranging from: police brutality, gross prosecutorial misconduct and an ineffective defense counsel. I
wondered why the State of Missouri would act to execute a man whom it has never contended caused the tragic deaths of Ruby
Kerry and Julie Kerry. It is certainly equally troubling that it would execute an accomplice while sentencing another person to life
imprisonment for the same events. And it is unconscionable that it would do so while denying Reginald Clemmons the opportunity to
present his case to a court without the flaws and omissions brought about by incompetent lawyers and an overzealous prosecutor whose
conduct was so outrageous that he was sanctioned by the court.
Another troubling issue is the fact that Clemmons, a teenager at the time of this alleged rape and murder, with no criminal record,
could not find a single law firm willing to represent him due to lack of funds. There was no physical evidence linking Clemmons to
the crime for which he received the death penalty: no fingerprints, no DNA, no hair nor fiber samples. This knowledge could have
served as facts enough to warrant an investigation into whether or not the case deserved to be handled without looking for
monetary compensation. Why didn't a competent law firm take over the case on a pro bono base? For years Clemmons
languished behind bars awaiting his execution all because he couldn't afford a legal firm to represent him. Pending the latest
development in the case Clemmons hopes to get a representation on the main issues for the death penalty. Assuming a law firm
agrees to represent Clemmons and discovers during the cause of trial that Clemmons was in fact innocent of the crime he is
accused of, and exonerated, that would be a great accomplishment for the law firm. That would also result in a bigger fame and
publicity for the law firm, furthermore, creating more business for the law firm?
Though a Law firm, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (New York) is currently representing him, my understanding of the representation is
that they are representing him only for getting him off of death row because the method of the lethal injection is cruel and unjust.
Killing is killing, no matter which method is used, whether it is by the lethal injection, or hanging, or a firing squad or any other
method, for that matter.... Killing is killing. Getting a trial for the rape and murder charges should also be a priority.
I believe it is wrong to put someone to death who might be innocent. It is not only unjust for Clemmons but surely the families of
the victims would want and appreciated to have the real killers punished. They deserve that justice. Executing the innocent is a
mistake that cannot be rectified. I am, therefore, calling on Trial Law Firms to look into this case and see how they can help find
solution to this case. Reginald Clemmons needs a Trial Law firm that is willing and bold enough to tackle the issues of rape and
murder. If there is no rape and no physical evidence linking Clemmons to the murders - already established facts, how can
Clemmons be on death row for those charges?
Here are some excerpts from the interviews African Business News had with Reginald Clemmons. I also highlighted
information received from “Justice For Reggie”.
“They are planning on executing me for a crime I didn’t commit. I am innocent.” Reginald Clemmons stated emphatically in an
interview with the African Business News.
NOTE:
Clemmons was one of three co-defendants convicted of the murder of Ruby Kerry and Julie Kerry as an accomplice, and sentenced to
death. One co-defendant, Marlin Gray, was executed in 2005; another, Antonio Richardson, is serving life in prison without parole after
his death sentence was commuted. A fourth co-defendant, Daniel Winfrey – the only one who was not black – testified against the
others in a plea bargain and was released on parole in 2007.
At the time of his arrest, Clemmons was 19 years old with no criminal history, living with his family in suburban St. Louis. Within a
twinkle of an eye, the events that transpired after he and his co-defendants encountered Thomas Cummins and his cousins on the
Chain of Rocks Bridge, a popular teenage hang out, cost him his freedom and landed him on death row.
A-BNews: What happened? How did it all these allegations begin? What is your link to the co-defendants? Start from the very
beginning..
Clemmons: “Me and my co-defendants, we were basically a group of strangers that happened to be hanging out together on that
night, at the Chain of Rocks Bridge, a teenage hangout – a real peaceful spot.” Clemmons started.
“The facts of the case are: I’ve never been convicted for the crime they are talking about executing me for.” Clemmons continued.
NOTE: Even though prosecutors conceded that Clemmons neither pushed the women nor planned the crime, he was convicted on the
theory that he was an accomplice.
Clemmons: “I have been trying to take the charges to trial and they refused to take those charges to trial." Clemmons stated. The
coroner, Michael Graham, said that the woman wasn’t raped in the case I was involved in, even though I was accused of rape.
The corona’s report stated that there was no evidence of rape. I was found guilty of rape. I’ve never been convicted of rape yet
they are trying to execute me without a conviction for what it is they said I did. It sounds confusing if you don’t accept the fact
that it’s unjust.” Clemmons continued.
A-BNews: I am a little confused. Why the rape allegation? Were these young ladies raped?
Clemmons: “Where they got the rape allegations from is that the police beat me into confessing to a rape and it was proven that
a rape never happened. That’s where they got the idea of a rape because I was beaten into confessing to rape.” Clemmons
explained.
“Police beat me for seven hours. The only reason I confessed to rape is because I figured that they will do DNA test or other types
of tests to prove that I was guilty of rape. The Police were not going to stop beating me until I confessed to something. I
confessed to rape because I figured that they’ll have to do some kind of blood test in order to prove rape but I was not given a
blood test. Even on the confession, I stated that I was not waiving my rights to remain silent before making the statement. I
refused to waive my rights even on tape.” He concluded.
A-BNews: On your way out that’s when you encountered the young man, Thomas Cummins and the 2 young ladies, Ruby and Julie
Kerry, am I correct?
Clemmons: “We took a flash light with us to look at the graffiti that was painted on the bridge. We lost the flash light and decided
to leave. As we were leaving, that’s when we came across Thomas Cummins, Ruby Kerry and Julie Kerry. We talked briefly for
about 20 minutes. While we talked, we mentioned that we had lost our flash light up there and that’s why we were leaving. When
we were leaving, Tony still wants to find his flash light. Danny and Marlene went ahead and got in their car. When Tony went back
to find his flash light, I walked off the bridge.” Clemmons continued his account of what happened the night that changed the
course of his life.
“Thomas Cummings was up there with the girls. I don’t know what happened since I wasn’t there but I heard the different
accounts of Thomas Cummings confession while with his dad at the police station. “The state’s evidence fits Thomas Cummings
confession because he had scratch marks on his arms and ink pen marks on his arms and that was the ink pen found on the
bridge.” he reported.
“Tony said he’d seen someone fall off the bridge. When Thomas Cummings saw Tony, he gave Tony his watch and some money
not to say anything to anybody. None of us had any scratch marks on us like we’d been in a struggle with a female or any wounds
like we’ve been in a struggle with anyone. The only injuries that I had were the injuries I got from the police beating me up.
Thomas Cummings after he heard that I had been beaten into a confession also claimed that he too was beaten into a confession.
His father was there with him at the police station when he confessed. I don’t think the police beat him into a confession with his
father at the station with him. That’s how he explained his reason for confession and they gave him $150,000.” Clemmons
concluded.
Note:
• When Reggie was brought in by the police for questioning, he asked for an attorney but was denied one. After hours of threats and
police beatings, Reggie made a coerced statement in which he denied pushing the girls from the bridge. At his arraignment, the judge
noted Reggie was injured and sent him to the hospital. Reggie and his codefendant Marlin Gray both said they were beaten and
threatened by the police, and were coerced into giving scripted confessions. Tom Cummins said he too had been beaten by police and
forced into a confession, even though his father later said that his son had been treated “professionally and courteously” during police
interviews. While Reggie’s and Marlin’s allegations of police brutality were ignored, Cummins was released from custody and eventually
settled his police brutality lawsuit with the City for $150,000.
• Tom Cummins was the first suspect in this case. Cummins told several conflicting and unbelievable stories about what happened
on the bridge that night. He first told the police that he jumped into the frigid Mississippi River. Yet despite the fact that this would have
been an 80 foot leap into near freezing water, Cummins was dry from the waist up when police talked to him shortly after the incident.
Cummins then failed a lie detector test, and told the police that his cousins had fallen from the bridge as the result of an altercation that
began after he made a sexual advance toward one of them. He was arrested and charged with the murder of his cousins. However, soon
thereafter the police found a flashlight left at the bridge by Tony Richardson, and this discovery gave rise to shifting the blame from
Cummins to Clemmons’s group.
Reginald Clemmons scheduled for execution on June 17, 2009 miraculously, was granted a Stay of Execution by the U.S. Court of
Appeals on Friday, June 5, as part of a case that broadly challenges Missouri’s system of lethal injections.
African Business News Publisher in another interview with Clemmons Friday, June 5, learned of a strange visit from a bird.
“Messenger Bird” Clemmons called it. Did the messenger bird bring a message of hope? Miracles had been happening ever since
the strange visit. As Clemmons sat in a quiet corner and meditated all day, awaiting news from the Federal Court of Appeals, he
was:
• Visited by a Messenger Bird
• He called the bird a "Messenger Bird" because it sat by him in a prostrating position. It sat quietly, from sun rise, to sun down only
changing prostrating position to East, West, North and South. The bird sat there, quietly, as if to convey a message of Good News from
God.
• The messenger bird sat by Clemmons all day until the news broke about the Stay of Execution, then and only then, did it fly away.
• The messenger bird came to convey to him that he is not alone. God has heard his cries and is ready to perform His miracles.
Did the messenger bird bring a message of Hope? Are we going to finally see justice served?
From the events that are unraveling, it certainly seems that the messenger bird brought Good News.
Here are some of the Good News:
1. Stay of Execution
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit, without explanation, granted a Stay of Execution for Reginald Clemmons on Friday,
June 5. 2009, the day the "Messenger Bird" visited.
2. Admission of Withholding Evidence
On the Charles Jaco Show, Redditt Hudson of the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri pressured prosecutor Nels C.
Moss into admitting the State had possession of clothing retrieved from the body identified as Julie Kerry at the time of Clemmons’
1993 murder trial. “Nobody ever asked for it,” Moss said of the clothing.
“The coroner Michael Graham testified that there was no evidence of rape at trial” Moss confirmed and in that same interview
stated that, “what was left on her was so water-soaked that nothing could be made out”
3. Trial in May 2010
On August 21, 2009 the special master appointed to review the Clemmons case by the Missouri Supreme Court issued a Case
Management Plan and Order, to which he said Clemmons’ attorneys and counsel for the State of Missouri had agreed.
Judge Michael Manners, special master for the Clemmons appeal, outlined a detailed legal process that extends all the way to a
hearing on May 10, 2010 in St. Louis. Clemmons’ opening brief is due February 1, 2010, the State’s opposition brief is due on
March 15, 2010 and Clemmons’ reply brief is due on April 15, 2010, with the hearing in St. Louis following on May 10, 2010. With
the detailed outline, it is absolutely likely that his recommendation to the Missouri Supreme Court and any judgment the court
might make as a result will give Clemmons more time past his previously scheduled execution date.
The biggest miracle is yet to happen.
In conclusion, Reggie Clemmons without doubt needs a Trial Law Firm(s) willing to attack the issues of rape and murder charges
Clemmons has been accused of and proof beyond reasonable doubt that he is innocent, in order to get an acknowledgement from
the Missouri Supreme Court and ultimately an acquittal. This will definitely be the ultimate miracle!!!
Reginald Clemmons is very happy and extends his thanks to everybody that is helping him in this case.
For more information on Reginald Clemmons case, call 314-367-5959 or email justice4reggie@yahoo.com
spiritual adviser to Clemmons. I agreed to interview Clemmons and do whatever I could to lend a helping hand, under the
condition that I had to be convinced there were flaws in the case. Not knowing much about the case, I did my research before the
scheduled interview with Reginald Clemmons to familiarize myself with the facts. I had a lot of questions that needed to be
answered by none other than Reginald Clemmons.
As I researched and listened to the troubling accounts of the Missouri death row inmate, Reginald Clemmons, I found the case
filled with many injustices, ranging from: police brutality, gross prosecutorial misconduct and an ineffective defense counsel. I
wondered why the State of Missouri would act to execute a man whom it has never contended caused the tragic deaths of Ruby
Kerry and Julie Kerry. It is certainly equally troubling that it would execute an accomplice while sentencing another person to life
imprisonment for the same events. And it is unconscionable that it would do so while denying Reginald Clemmons the opportunity to
present his case to a court without the flaws and omissions brought about by incompetent lawyers and an overzealous prosecutor whose
conduct was so outrageous that he was sanctioned by the court.
Another troubling issue is the fact that Clemmons, a teenager at the time of this alleged rape and murder, with no criminal record,
could not find a single law firm willing to represent him due to lack of funds. There was no physical evidence linking Clemmons to
the crime for which he received the death penalty: no fingerprints, no DNA, no hair nor fiber samples. This knowledge could have
served as facts enough to warrant an investigation into whether or not the case deserved to be handled without looking for
monetary compensation. Why didn't a competent law firm take over the case on a pro bono base? For years Clemmons
languished behind bars awaiting his execution all because he couldn't afford a legal firm to represent him. Pending the latest
development in the case Clemmons hopes to get a representation on the main issues for the death penalty. Assuming a law firm
agrees to represent Clemmons and discovers during the cause of trial that Clemmons was in fact innocent of the crime he is
accused of, and exonerated, that would be a great accomplishment for the law firm. That would also result in a bigger fame and
publicity for the law firm, furthermore, creating more business for the law firm?
Though a Law firm, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (New York) is currently representing him, my understanding of the representation is
that they are representing him only for getting him off of death row because the method of the lethal injection is cruel and unjust.
Killing is killing, no matter which method is used, whether it is by the lethal injection, or hanging, or a firing squad or any other
method, for that matter.... Killing is killing. Getting a trial for the rape and murder charges should also be a priority.
I believe it is wrong to put someone to death who might be innocent. It is not only unjust for Clemmons but surely the families of
the victims would want and appreciated to have the real killers punished. They deserve that justice. Executing the innocent is a
mistake that cannot be rectified. I am, therefore, calling on Trial Law Firms to look into this case and see how they can help find
solution to this case. Reginald Clemmons needs a Trial Law firm that is willing and bold enough to tackle the issues of rape and
murder. If there is no rape and no physical evidence linking Clemmons to the murders - already established facts, how can
Clemmons be on death row for those charges?
Here are some excerpts from the interviews African Business News had with Reginald Clemmons. I also highlighted
information received from “Justice For Reggie”.
“They are planning on executing me for a crime I didn’t commit. I am innocent.” Reginald Clemmons stated emphatically in an
interview with the African Business News.
NOTE:
Clemmons was one of three co-defendants convicted of the murder of Ruby Kerry and Julie Kerry as an accomplice, and sentenced to
death. One co-defendant, Marlin Gray, was executed in 2005; another, Antonio Richardson, is serving life in prison without parole after
his death sentence was commuted. A fourth co-defendant, Daniel Winfrey – the only one who was not black – testified against the
others in a plea bargain and was released on parole in 2007.
At the time of his arrest, Clemmons was 19 years old with no criminal history, living with his family in suburban St. Louis. Within a
twinkle of an eye, the events that transpired after he and his co-defendants encountered Thomas Cummins and his cousins on the
Chain of Rocks Bridge, a popular teenage hang out, cost him his freedom and landed him on death row.
A-BNews: What happened? How did it all these allegations begin? What is your link to the co-defendants? Start from the very
beginning..
Clemmons: “Me and my co-defendants, we were basically a group of strangers that happened to be hanging out together on that
night, at the Chain of Rocks Bridge, a teenage hangout – a real peaceful spot.” Clemmons started.
“The facts of the case are: I’ve never been convicted for the crime they are talking about executing me for.” Clemmons continued.
NOTE: Even though prosecutors conceded that Clemmons neither pushed the women nor planned the crime, he was convicted on the
theory that he was an accomplice.
Clemmons: “I have been trying to take the charges to trial and they refused to take those charges to trial." Clemmons stated. The
coroner, Michael Graham, said that the woman wasn’t raped in the case I was involved in, even though I was accused of rape.
The corona’s report stated that there was no evidence of rape. I was found guilty of rape. I’ve never been convicted of rape yet
they are trying to execute me without a conviction for what it is they said I did. It sounds confusing if you don’t accept the fact
that it’s unjust.” Clemmons continued.
A-BNews: I am a little confused. Why the rape allegation? Were these young ladies raped?
Clemmons: “Where they got the rape allegations from is that the police beat me into confessing to a rape and it was proven that
a rape never happened. That’s where they got the idea of a rape because I was beaten into confessing to rape.” Clemmons
explained.
“Police beat me for seven hours. The only reason I confessed to rape is because I figured that they will do DNA test or other types
of tests to prove that I was guilty of rape. The Police were not going to stop beating me until I confessed to something. I
confessed to rape because I figured that they’ll have to do some kind of blood test in order to prove rape but I was not given a
blood test. Even on the confession, I stated that I was not waiving my rights to remain silent before making the statement. I
refused to waive my rights even on tape.” He concluded.
A-BNews: On your way out that’s when you encountered the young man, Thomas Cummins and the 2 young ladies, Ruby and Julie
Kerry, am I correct?
Clemmons: “We took a flash light with us to look at the graffiti that was painted on the bridge. We lost the flash light and decided
to leave. As we were leaving, that’s when we came across Thomas Cummins, Ruby Kerry and Julie Kerry. We talked briefly for
about 20 minutes. While we talked, we mentioned that we had lost our flash light up there and that’s why we were leaving. When
we were leaving, Tony still wants to find his flash light. Danny and Marlene went ahead and got in their car. When Tony went back
to find his flash light, I walked off the bridge.” Clemmons continued his account of what happened the night that changed the
course of his life.
“Thomas Cummings was up there with the girls. I don’t know what happened since I wasn’t there but I heard the different
accounts of Thomas Cummings confession while with his dad at the police station. “The state’s evidence fits Thomas Cummings
confession because he had scratch marks on his arms and ink pen marks on his arms and that was the ink pen found on the
bridge.” he reported.
“Tony said he’d seen someone fall off the bridge. When Thomas Cummings saw Tony, he gave Tony his watch and some money
not to say anything to anybody. None of us had any scratch marks on us like we’d been in a struggle with a female or any wounds
like we’ve been in a struggle with anyone. The only injuries that I had were the injuries I got from the police beating me up.
Thomas Cummings after he heard that I had been beaten into a confession also claimed that he too was beaten into a confession.
His father was there with him at the police station when he confessed. I don’t think the police beat him into a confession with his
father at the station with him. That’s how he explained his reason for confession and they gave him $150,000.” Clemmons
concluded.
Note:
• When Reggie was brought in by the police for questioning, he asked for an attorney but was denied one. After hours of threats and
police beatings, Reggie made a coerced statement in which he denied pushing the girls from the bridge. At his arraignment, the judge
noted Reggie was injured and sent him to the hospital. Reggie and his codefendant Marlin Gray both said they were beaten and
threatened by the police, and were coerced into giving scripted confessions. Tom Cummins said he too had been beaten by police and
forced into a confession, even though his father later said that his son had been treated “professionally and courteously” during police
interviews. While Reggie’s and Marlin’s allegations of police brutality were ignored, Cummins was released from custody and eventually
settled his police brutality lawsuit with the City for $150,000.
• Tom Cummins was the first suspect in this case. Cummins told several conflicting and unbelievable stories about what happened
on the bridge that night. He first told the police that he jumped into the frigid Mississippi River. Yet despite the fact that this would have
been an 80 foot leap into near freezing water, Cummins was dry from the waist up when police talked to him shortly after the incident.
Cummins then failed a lie detector test, and told the police that his cousins had fallen from the bridge as the result of an altercation that
began after he made a sexual advance toward one of them. He was arrested and charged with the murder of his cousins. However, soon
thereafter the police found a flashlight left at the bridge by Tony Richardson, and this discovery gave rise to shifting the blame from
Cummins to Clemmons’s group.
Reginald Clemmons scheduled for execution on June 17, 2009 miraculously, was granted a Stay of Execution by the U.S. Court of
Appeals on Friday, June 5, as part of a case that broadly challenges Missouri’s system of lethal injections.
African Business News Publisher in another interview with Clemmons Friday, June 5, learned of a strange visit from a bird.
“Messenger Bird” Clemmons called it. Did the messenger bird bring a message of hope? Miracles had been happening ever since
the strange visit. As Clemmons sat in a quiet corner and meditated all day, awaiting news from the Federal Court of Appeals, he
was:
• Visited by a Messenger Bird
• He called the bird a "Messenger Bird" because it sat by him in a prostrating position. It sat quietly, from sun rise, to sun down only
changing prostrating position to East, West, North and South. The bird sat there, quietly, as if to convey a message of Good News from
God.
• The messenger bird sat by Clemmons all day until the news broke about the Stay of Execution, then and only then, did it fly away.
• The messenger bird came to convey to him that he is not alone. God has heard his cries and is ready to perform His miracles.
Did the messenger bird bring a message of Hope? Are we going to finally see justice served?
From the events that are unraveling, it certainly seems that the messenger bird brought Good News.
Here are some of the Good News:
1. Stay of Execution
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit, without explanation, granted a Stay of Execution for Reginald Clemmons on Friday,
June 5. 2009, the day the "Messenger Bird" visited.
2. Admission of Withholding Evidence
On the Charles Jaco Show, Redditt Hudson of the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri pressured prosecutor Nels C.
Moss into admitting the State had possession of clothing retrieved from the body identified as Julie Kerry at the time of Clemmons’
1993 murder trial. “Nobody ever asked for it,” Moss said of the clothing.
“The coroner Michael Graham testified that there was no evidence of rape at trial” Moss confirmed and in that same interview
stated that, “what was left on her was so water-soaked that nothing could be made out”
3. Trial in May 2010
On August 21, 2009 the special master appointed to review the Clemmons case by the Missouri Supreme Court issued a Case
Management Plan and Order, to which he said Clemmons’ attorneys and counsel for the State of Missouri had agreed.
Judge Michael Manners, special master for the Clemmons appeal, outlined a detailed legal process that extends all the way to a
hearing on May 10, 2010 in St. Louis. Clemmons’ opening brief is due February 1, 2010, the State’s opposition brief is due on
March 15, 2010 and Clemmons’ reply brief is due on April 15, 2010, with the hearing in St. Louis following on May 10, 2010. With
the detailed outline, it is absolutely likely that his recommendation to the Missouri Supreme Court and any judgment the court
might make as a result will give Clemmons more time past his previously scheduled execution date.
The biggest miracle is yet to happen.
In conclusion, Reggie Clemmons without doubt needs a Trial Law Firm(s) willing to attack the issues of rape and murder charges
Clemmons has been accused of and proof beyond reasonable doubt that he is innocent, in order to get an acknowledgement from
the Missouri Supreme Court and ultimately an acquittal. This will definitely be the ultimate miracle!!!
Reginald Clemmons is very happy and extends his thanks to everybody that is helping him in this case.
For more information on Reginald Clemmons case, call 314-367-5959 or email justice4reggie@yahoo.com
| COMMENTARY |
| Messenger Bird -Message of Hope?: |
Clemmons:
Is Missouri
Executing The
Wrong Man?
Is Missouri
Executing The
Wrong Man?
The Authoritative Voice Of Africa
A Bi-Lingual, English And French, Publication Of The Princess Group, L.L.C.
| Princess Ezenwa Okenwa Publisher/Managing Editor |
By: Princess Ezenwa Okenwa
Copyright © 2008-2009, The Princess Group, L.L.C., P. O. Box 419361, St. Louis, MO 63141, All rights reserved. Website Designed By: Princess Ezenwa Okenwa
August 2009
August 2009
By: Princess Ezenwa Okenwa
| ARCHIVES |
| ARCHIVES |
| ARCHIVES |
| ARCHIVES |
| As I sit and ponder, reflecting on the past and the abundant possibilities open to Africa, I found myself deliberating on the fact that the people are not working efficiently and effectively together. I started asking questions. Why Africans are not working consistently towards finding common goals and solutions for the betterment of Africa. Are we going to let the limited, few corrupt individuals bring down Africa? Are we going to let those limited, few that control the assets of Africa sell Africa short, just because of greed? What should Africa do to succeed? What are we going to do about Africa now? How can Africa develop and boost its many resources into a dynamic powerhouse - a force to be reckoned with? The corruption, mismanagement and state controls are issues that need unraveling strategic solutions. As a result of these negatives, most African countries are kept at arms length by investors and international community. Given the political instability and turmoil in some of these African countries in the past and present, their caution is understandable. Africa is an emerging continent, endowed with human potential that is made up of an educated urban elite, entrepreneurial spirit and economic resources beyond imagination. Putting the past behind and striding into the 21st century as an economic powerhouse should however, be top priority. Let us collaborate to find solutions. Collaboration is about working together for a common goal. It’s about working together to better understand, anticipate and satisfy needs. Let us team up with African Business News to find common goals to revamp Africa. African Business News was established to serve as a discussion forum for Africans to use in finding solutions to the challenges that face Africa. Our ancestors are rumbling from beyond, far, far away. We have to work together to appease them. Have we forgotten all too soon? Africa!!! My Brethrens!!! The time for blame is over. The time for Action is now! There are a lot of challenges facing Africa: Corruption, Impassable Roads, Hunger, Lack of Drinking Water, Healthcare, Electricity, Kidnapping that is currently plaguing the Eastern parts of Nigeria, and our Children. The question is what are we going to do about these challenges? I ask, over and over again - Africa, where are your Children? Where have your Children gone? Which direction are your Children heading? Events unfold daily showing the misguided steps of the Children. No one is paying attention to the Children. Can’t you see that the Children are crying? Your Children are running away because they are hurting. Your Children are running because they witness the Abuse, the Greed; the Corruption; and No-one to direct them to the right path. Your Children are Crying Out for HELP! Let us collaborate and find solutions by striding into the 21st Century as an economic powerhouse with the endowed human potential and natural economic resources beyond imagination armed with the tools necessary to revamp Africa and above all direct our focus on our wailing Children. We have a lot of work ahead of us but solution is all it takes!!! Let us put our heads together and take on the challenges that are currently plaguing Africa. Together, We Can Make A Difference! Together, We Can Succeed!! |
Collaboration Is The Key Element To Revamp Africa |
By: Princess Ezenwa Okenwa
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On March 7, 2010, violence erupted in central Nigeria resulting in the killings of hundreds of Christian villagers. If those in leadership authorities do not address the real root cause of the violence, and also bring the perpetrators to justice, the massacre will repeat itself. The latest killings in Plateau State, Nigeria took place in the early morning hours of March 7. Groups of men armed with guns, machetes, and knives attacked residents of the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Zot, and Ratsat, 10 kilometers south of Jos, the capital of Plateau State. Among those deceased were women and children. What has to happen to prevent another occurrence of this horrific violence which left thousands dead in Plateau State in the past decade? Why has no-one been held accountable of the past atrocities?. The time to stop the killings is NOW before more innocent souls perish for issues they don’t understand. The Nigerian government need to step up to protect its citizens, bring the perpetrators to justice, and address the root causes of these violence. Though the acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, responded to the January violence by deploying additional troops to the streets of Jos and surrounding communities, the gesture didn't stop the killings. The military presence and patrols have been largely limited to major roads and towns and have not protected many of the smaller communities. Jonathan pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice. "Those found to have engineered, encouraged or fanned the embers of this crisis through their actions or pronouncements will be arrested and speedily brought to justice," he said. "We will not allow anyone to hide under the canopy of group action to evade justice. Crime, in all its gravity, is an individual responsibility, not a communal affair." What happens next? Again there are no real solutions. While Jonathan's pledges are a step in the right direction, will they be followed up with action packed credible investigations and prosecutions. The root cause of the violence need to be identified and addressed quickly. In the past, the perpetrators were held, released and then go unpunished for their actions. Since actions go unpunished, what happens over and over again is the occurrence of the same vicious cycle. Noting that issues were not dealt with, the affected ethnic and religious groups seek to retaliate to avenge the death of loved ones. To end this vicious cycle of violence, Nigeria should address the real issues and the root cause. Steps should be taken to educate the populace that each member of the Southern ethnic and the largely Muslim Hausa groups, who are classified as non-indigenes in Jos and surrounding communities are Nigerians. Though many have lived there for several generations, they are full fledged Nigerians and therefore, have the rights as Nigerian citizens. The education on the rights of a Nigerian, and on the discrimination against "non- indigenes" must be top priority all around the entire Federation of Nigeria. If it is not, it will result in a stimulation of anxiety and apprehension that will bring about conflicts, Till the next issue, Live With Passion!!! Princess Ezenwa Okenwa is the Publisher/Managing Editor of the African Business News, the authoritative premier, bi-lingual (English & French) publication of The Princess Group, L.L.C. and a former employee of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. The Princess holds a BSBA degree in Marketing and Mathematics from Washington University and a Masters degree in Marketing and Media Communications from Webster University, both universities are located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. |
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