What better way to start the New Year than a story of the millions of US $ lost by greedy people through Nigerian internet scams! Nigerian blog, Nigerian Times - (http://nigeriantimes.blogspot.com/2006/01/yahoo-yahoo-internet-scammers-...) writes a rejoinder to an article in the Miami Herald on Nigerian scammers. He admits that greediness and gullibility are largely responsible but adds that the CIA, FBI and Interpol have the technology to trace and arrest the scammers via their hotmail and yahoo accounts. In fact in Nigeria, scammers are called “Yahoo-Yahoo boys” because 99% of them use Yahoo accounts. It is impossible to have any sympathy for people that fall for these scams – everyone knows that gluttony is bad for the health and the pocket!

“These Internet Scams can be stopped once and for all if the Americans and Europeans and other foreigners stop being GREEDY, IGNORANT and GULLIBLE and if the CIA, FBI and INTERPOL can do their work accordingly.”

Ethan Zuckerman’s My Heart is in Accra - My Hearts in Accra (http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=312) points to an article in the New York Times that updates an old story - attempts to re-brand Ghana as a homeland for Africans enslaved and brought across the Atlantic to return home to. The issue of “homeland” for many old Diasporans is a highly problematic one. As Ethan points out, being labelled as “white” (“obruni”) when you are a white man is one thing but for Africans from the Diaspora it is confusing and disappointing.

“But it’s obviously very different to hear yourself called ‘obruni’ when you’re an African-American in Ghana. And it’s even harder to hear the message many of my African-American friends heard while visiting Ghana - that they were ‘lucky’ because they ‘got to live in America’. While this may be an astonishingly insensitive thing to say to people looking for their ancestry after being uprooted by one of the greatest crimes in history, it makes some sense when seen from the perspective of a young Ghanaian. Many Ghanaians are desperate to emigrate to the US or the UK - it’s hard to understand, from that perspective, why people ‘lucky’ enough to live in America would be looking back towards Africa.”

British/Ghanaian Artistic director of Institute of Contemporary Arts Ekow Eshun’s “Black Gold of the Sun” is an excellent example of “the tribulations” of “going back home”.

Rantings of a Sandmonkey - Rantings of a Sandmonkey (http://egyptiansandmonkey.blogspot.com/2006/01/egypt-to-deport-sudanese-...) presents a visual commentary on the killing and removal of Sudanese refugees from Cairo which mocks the reason given by the Egyptian government for their actions – the refugees were evicted, beaten and killed for “being too violent”.

Passion of the Present - Passion of the Present (http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2006/01/egypt_celebrate.html) also writes on the eviction and killings of Sudanese refugees noting that it is the 50th anniversary of Sudan’s independence from “Anglo-Egyptian condominium rule (January 1, 1956)”

“There is no reliable casualty report, in part because Egyptian security forces are not returning the dead to their families. But the Cairo representative of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement has reported, on behalf of the SPLM Committee in Cairo, the results of a canvassing of area hospitals: 180 dead at Giza Hospital, 27 dead at Zeinhom Hospital, 35 dead at Manshiet Bakry Hospital, 23 dead at Kasr El Ein Hospital.”

Kenyan blogger, Gukira - Gukira (http://gukira.blogspot.com/2006/01/tribes-and-democracy.html) writes on “tribes, language and culture” and myths of the West, stating:

“I've never bought the myth that tribes should be renamed nations to satisfy some western acknowledgement that our traditional organizations were complex. And I've also never bought the idea that cultural and linguistic complexity should be sacrificed in the name of national unity, as though English and Swahili lack specific histories.”

The African Cup of Nations starts next month in Egypt. Black Looks - Black Looks (http://okrasoup.typepad.com/black_looks/2006/01/happy_new_year_.html) looks at how the Africa cup impacts on European football as team managers look for creative ways to avoid allowing their African players to participate in the tournament.

“English and European football are happy to benefit from the talent of African footballers but are not prepared to pay the price - one month every two years. Admittedly the African Nations Cup comes at an awkward time for European football but this is something FIFA and CAF (Confédération Africaine de Football) need to address. Like the European and World Cup maybe the African Cup of Nations could be played over the summer but even then I predict there would be complaints from teams and players because neither accord African football with the same respect and consideration as European football.”

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, http://okrasoup.typepad.com/black_looks

* Please send comments to [email protected]