We were cruising at an altitude of about  34,000 feet from the coastal town of Mombasa headed for Nairobi when the voice of the Kenya Airways pilot broke into the quietness of the flight. I took it to be another routine announcement but it  turned out to be different:

‘…for those seated on the left side of the plane, if you look out through the window, you would see Mount Kilimanjaro…’

Mount Kilimanjaro, as seen from a flight between Mombasa and Nairobi. Photo by Oluniyi D. Ajao.

“Kili-what? Did he say left side of the plane?” I wondered as I didn’t believe my ears. I was on a window sit on the left side of the plane and it sounded too good to be true but I looked out all the same. Out there in its majesty, stood Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. The same mountain I learnt about severally in my childhood days and have fantasied climbing.

It was such a thrill to have sighted it, albeit from a safe distance & the comfort of a Boeing 767-300ER jet. Since I had my Nikon D60 camera between my laps, I quickly started taking shots of Africa’s tallest landmark.

While tourists on the flight scrambled to the left side of the plane to catch a glimpse, the Kenyans sat on, unperturbed. Obviously, they’re used to the beautiful sight.

Mount Kilimanjaro as seen from the clouds. Photo by Oluniyi D. Ajao.

It stands tall with a little cap of snow atop it. This made me re-think my dream of climbing that mountain. Rather than scare me off, it gives me a more realistic sense of the mount called Kilimanjaro and helps me to calibrate my fantasy of climbing it.

Kilimanjaro, is the highest peak in Africa at 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) and most of it is in Tanzania with only a part of it in Kenya.

As the aircraft gently descends down into Nairobi, I am elated to have seen Mount Kilimanjaro with my own eyes. Not from a photo, nor TV. How many of my peers would have the same opportunity? I thought to myself.

This is an exciting way to end a fulfilling week. I would share some details of the Mombasa weekend thrill, later.

Note: I wrote most of this mid-flight on a smartphone in offline mode.

As always, comments are welcome.

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I was privileged to be at last night’s Skunkworks meeting. The 2-hour meeting held at KCCT Teleposta Towers focused on a new project aimed at physically bringing the tech community in Nairobi & environs together.

The audience included staff from Kenyan Youth Fund, staff from Kenyan ICT Board, freelancers, application developers, 4 members of the iHub project, a journalist amongst others.

Erik making a point @ Skunkworks where the discussion focused on iHub

Erik of Ushaidi spoke at lenght about the new iHub project. The following were extracted from his answers to questions to the audience. iHub would amongst other things:

• serve as an incubator for entrepreneurs, in a secured environment
• offer basic infrastructure
• link Venture Capitalists with potential entrepreneurs
• both open-source and proprietary projects are welcome
• serve as a platform for problem-solving
• focused on techies
• be based on meritocracy, guys doing cool stuff would be given preferential treatment
• host IT-related events and meetings
• bring people interested in tech together, around Nairobi

More soon….

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Kenya’s tourism industry is back at full steam with earnings from tourism back to where they were before the 2007-2008 Kenyan electoral crisis. I watched Kenya’s Tourism Minister, Najib Balala, confirm the growth in an NTV news report a few days ago.

Information available from Kenya’s Ministry of  Tourism website further confirms the sharp decline in 2008:

In the year 2008, the  tourism sector in Kenya recorded one of its worst performances ever in real  terms. The dismal performance was mainly occasioned by the post election crisis  and the subsequent travel bans from the source markets. As a consequence, tourism  earnings decreased by 19.2% from Ksh 65.2 billion in 2007 to Ksh 52.7 billion  in 2008.

The tourist industry in Kenya is the second largest source of foreign exchange revenue after agriculture. Kenya’s services sector, which contributes about 63 percent of GDP, is dominated by tourism.

The new growth is partly a result of the Obama-effect. According to guardian.co.uk: Barack Obama heritage effect boosts African tourism industry

The 2008 election of Barack Obama, whose father was an immigrant from Kenya, appears to have led to a boom in so-called “roots tourism” among African Americans.

The World Travel Market Global Trends Report 2009 said Obama’s election “has resulted in a surge of popularity for Kenya especially amongst African Americans wishing to visit his ancestral village Kogelo where his grandmother still lives”.

Everything in this country appear to be geared towards making maximum income from tourism. Visa acquisition is easy and straight-forward. It is even available on-arrival to citizens of several countries. Hotels are in abundance as are the tourist attractions.

Giraffes inside Nairobi National Park, Kenya. Photo by Oluniyi David Ajao.

Nairobi National Park

I was privileged to visit Nairobi National Park last Saturday. According to Wikipedia:

Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya. It became Kenya’s first national park when it was established in 1946. It is located approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) south of the centre of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, and is small in relation to most of Africa’s national parks. Nairobi’s skyscrapers can be seen from the park. The park has a large and varied wildlife population. Only a fence separates the park’s animals from the city. Migrating herbivores concentrate in the park during the dry season. It is one of Kenya’s most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries.

The park was pretty exciting. My only problems were:

• $50 entry fee for non-residents. Kenyans pay something much lower, and in their local currency. The gap is too wide.
• Much of the road in the park is un-tarred. This made it very dusty and uncomfortable making one having to hurriedly close the window severally.
• I was depressed after the 3 hour-trip because I was not lucky to have seen lions.

In my view, Ghana and Nigeria have a lot to learn from Kenya’s tourism industry. I still have much more days here and so would keep exploring the sights and sounds of Kenya.

Recommendations on where to visit are welcomed in the comments area.

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Nairobi, Kenya – Mobile Web East Africa, an event that focuses on “harnessing the potential of the internet and applications on mobile devices”, starts tomorrow 3rd February 2010 and ends on 4th February 2010, at Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi.

The innovative event already has a long roll-call of speakers and facilitators, and has special round-table sessions that would enable every delegate to participate in the discussions. The official website for Mobile Web East Africa is at www.mobileeastafrica.com

The current edition of MobileWorld magazine

The first 40 delegates would receive a free copy of the current edition of MobileWorld magazine, courtesy Mobile Africa.

Mobile World delivers cutting edge mobile communications news, information technology, reviews, essential tips, and information on existing and new equipments, gizmo’s, gadgets and provides a fresh perspective on current events as relevant within the global communications market.

The current edition includes:

• Nigeria hits 67 million subscribers …now Africa’s No. 1 telecoms market – ITU (cover story)
• Ndukwe is Nigeria’s Father of Telecom Revolution
• Midwifing a knowledge-driven economy, the MTN example
• Lagosians endorse Multi-Links Telkom’s Ev-Do Product & Services
• Safaricom launches Dynamic Discount tariff
• Zain, EMS and RIM introduce the Blackberry Solution in Ghana
• Vodafone, Zain, MTN, Tigo, Glo Mobile and their competition in Ghana by Oluniyi David Ajao
• and much more…

MobileWorld magazine is a publication of Instinct Media, a UK-based publisher.

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This year’s African Cup of Nations tournament – Angola 2010 – has not been short of drama. A few underdogs have made a mark by spoiling the chances of football giants while some favourites who even qualified for the South Africa 2010 World Cup tournament (Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia) have witnessed an early exit.

Last night’s matches were even more dramatic for the “Indomitable Lions” of Cameroon were dominated by the Pharaohs of Egypt. The Egypt vrs Cameroon match was not hard for me to predict. I wrote on Twitter before the match:

Egypt would beat Cameroon. That’s easy to predict. What are you views? #can2010
about 13 hours ago from Gatorpeeps

Unless luck intervenes heavily, I did not see that team that could stop Egypt from reaching the finals. Not even Cameroon, despite Cameroon’s team of experienced players.

Some Nigerian fans lift their flag high just before a group-stage match between Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria in Ghana 2008. Photo by Oluniyi David Ajao.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria silenced the Copper Bullets of Zambia last night as well. The Nigeria vrs Zambia match was tiring because large expectations were flattened since neither side scored a goal during the 90 minutes of play, nor during the 30 extra minutes. The Zambians put up a good fight but luck was not on their side. Based on the spectacular saves by the Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, I was confident that Nigeria would win the day should the play end up in a penalty shoot-out. It turned out that Vincent Enyeama was the star of the match. He not only saved a penalty kick by Thomas Nyrienda but also scored one himself, sending the Zambian goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene in the exact opposite direction of his kick.

Thursday 28th January 2010 is another historic date in Angola. Arch-rivals would meet again to settle the ever evolving question of “who is the better team?”.

Algeria ruined the chances of Egypt for South Africa 2010. Could Angola 2010 offer a chance for Egypt to demand a pound of flesh from Algeria? The Egyptian team seem like the favourites, considering that they have lifted the African Nations Cup for a record six times and even won in 2006 and 2008. A not-far-fetched win in 2010 would mean they have lifted the Cup seven times and have won 3 times back-to-back.

Ghana’s youthful team is set to meet the more experienced hands from Nigeria at the Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda same Thursday.

Some Ghanaian fans dancing during the opening ceremonies of Ghana 2008. Would they still be winding their waists after Thursday? Photo by Oluniyi David Ajao.

The Angola 2010 tournament seemed to be a bleak one for Ghana’s Black Stars. A handful of the experienced players were down due to injury or not called due to disciplinary issues. The Coach Milovan Rajevac thus had no choice than to call-up some of the winning Under-20 players. Despite the low expectations, they have proved their mettle by qualifying to the semi-finals.

The Nigerian Super Eagles has a teamful of professional players. It waits to be seen if they would be able to coordinate properly and play as a real team. That is the only way they could qualify to the finals. Would the Super Eagles be able to beat the Ghana 2008 jinx and beat the Black Stars this time? I think so.

What are your thoughts? Would Egypt beat Algeria this time? Would Nigeria overcome their Ghanaian arch-rivals? Leave your comments.

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This is a guest post by Nunya  Akumey-Affizie.

Presidents do fall ill all the time. Sometime in 2004, former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, was whisked to hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties as he addressed a political rally.

Not quite long after that incident, former president of Tanzanian Benjamin Mkapa took ill for several months and even jetted out of his country for medical treatment.

President J.E.A. Mills. Photo credit: oop.gov.gh

The former Zambian leader, Levy Mwanawasa, died after suffering a stroke while on a medical trip abroad.
Bed ridden with acute pericarditis at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, the Nigerian Leader Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua is battling for survival while a group of outspoken individuals including the ferocious Femi Falana are strongly calling on the President to transfer power to his Vice president Goodluck Jonathan.

I can authoritatively say that, anyone waiting for President Yar’Adua to throw in the towel on account of ill-health would have to wait a very long time because a recent statement out of Aso Rock (Nigerian seat of Government) brusquely dismissed any notion that the president was considering stepping down.

Most African leaders don’t leave office on the grounds of ill-health; they best do so in a casket. This follows a flawed logic that propounds a voodoo theory that: it makes greater sense to die in the lap of presidential luxury and privileges than die as an ex-president with the tendency of not being accorded the due respect even whilst in the casket.

I shudder greatly at an absurd assertion by some Nigerians that, former President Olusegun Obasanjo actually knew Yar’Adua would not survive his first term in office. Infact it is believed that he planted him on the ticket knowing that at his demise Goodluck would ascend, and power would revert to the Southners.

Unfortunately, those churning out this falsehood forget that, Obasanjo has never seen himself as an agent of the ‘South.’ Indeed, it was on the basis of his perception as a ‘detribalized’ national figure, that leading elements from northern Nigeria pushed for his return to power in 1999.

Former Guinean president died after a long illness. But only a few days before his demise, Lasana Conté’s spokesman and the country’s communications Minister Tibou Kamara assured everyone of his good health.

Contrary to all the whitwashing, the president’s state of health grew worse during his final years in office. However, during Guinea’s 2003 presidential elections, Lasana Conté did the unthinkable. Bed-ridden and incapable of walking, the ballot box was taken to him in his car to cast his vote!

George Walker Bush, the former president of the United States, skillfully dodged “Shoe Missile” thrown at him by an angry Iraqi reporter. On the continent of Africa, very few presidents will be capable of such physical feats, although officially all of them are in “great shape” coupled with the fact that they perpetually keep their head down and their eyes glued to their speech even when delivering it at a funeral.

In 2005, President Abdulaziz Bouteflika was on admission at a French Military hospital for six days. The official Algerian report indicated that he suffered digestive problem contrary to the official medical report from the hospital which said that a surgical operation had been called for after the discovery of a hemorrhagic ulcer. Such factually fractured “official” reports run across the continent’s leadership spectrum.

The late president of Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadema, lived like a “Superman” Infact he once said that “I have never had any health problems, if not for a dysentery I once suffered in my youth” (English translation). Shamefully at the sunset of his reign, in 2003, he looked very sick, weak and skeletal. Nonetheless, his illness was never revealed to the Togolese.

During the preparatory stages to the NDC congress in before the 2008 election, the rumors were that, Professor Mills was ill. Infact it was said that the root of that diabolical rumor could be found within the NDC party hierarchy.
The silence of men of conviction also seems to have empowered the audacious impunity of some pseudo-intellectuals to carry this ferocious crusade against the learned professor.

In fact, to leave this unchallenged is akin to staying aloof while darkness triumphs over light.

For the mere fact that, no one is above the radar of criticisms is not a panacea for vomiting putrid bile on an unblemished individual like Professor Mills.

It was sickening and overly hypocritical to hear some Ghanaian politicians openly discuss the health of then candidate Attah Mills on platforms and other media as a sick person.

Sick as he was, the discerning and intelligent people of Ghana defied all odds to vote him into power as president of Ghana.

Interestingly enough, the “Sick” president is still alive while we witnessed the demise of very “strong” individuals like Hon. Baah Wiredu (An epitome of excellence), Major Courage Kwashiga (The preventive Health crusader and a retired brave soldier) from Kedzi (my village), and Mr. Dan Lartey (Domesticator) – May your souls rest in perfect peace. These men never appeared sick or weak but just may be they were inherently ill.

Physical appearance should never be the basis to judge a person’s state of wellbeing. This mental gravitation is inimical to the growth of our society.

I saw the president stand on his feet for more than two hours answering questions (even though some journalist could not decipher what constitute corruption and misrepresentation) from senior editors at the last meeting at the castle.
Infact, what shows that a person is sick? Long live President Mills.  In the mean time, please join me say a prayer for President Umaru Ya’radua. I wish him a speedy recovery.

May God give us all good health (3 John 2).

Author: Nunya  Akumey-Affizie
brwncecil(at)yahoo.com

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I woke up to a news report about an earth quake scare in Ghana. An earth quake was supposed to have happened somewhere close to where I live. Yet, I had slept soundly all night and was not ruffled at any point by the earth shaking.

It all started with a call I got from a friend this morning at 6:15am. That was the earliest she ever called me and you would thus imagine how surprised I was when she said she’d been trying to reach me since 2am! Apparently, the mobile network MTN was jammed as a result of the numerous phone calls and text messages making rounds. The rumour going round were two fold:

• an earthquake had already shook a town around Kasoa and was headed towards Winneba and  Cape Coast
• an earthquake was due to shake Accra

Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, Ghana. Is Ghana really prepared for an earthquake? Photo by Oluniyi David Ajao.

I only laughed it off. Earthquakes are not known to be predictable and knowing my people, I could tell that this was a rumour orchestrated to play on people’s minds since the recent earthquake in Haiti would lend credence to it.

I heard reports on radio from across Ghana about people who spent the entire night outside their homes, in open spaces in anticipation of an earthquake. As comical as it sounds, one cannot afford to be complacent since some parts of Accra have been identified long before now, as being earthquake-prone. According to experts however, the worst case scenario for any part of Ghana would be an earth tremor which is a mild form of an earthquake.

Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, a deputy Minister of Information, was at Joy FM (a leading radio station in Accra) to calm nerves and dispel the rumour:

“Government wants to assure the nation that it is just a rumour, that, there is going to be an earthquake.
“There is no iota of scientific evidence in that; somebody has just pulled a prank on the nation.
“It’s nothing but a wild rumour orchestrated and aimed at causing commotion and panic. It is not true, we have checked from all the official agencies.”

An expert in this field had also added his voice on why there should be no cause for alarm at this time:

Dr Emmanuel Amamoo-Otchere, former Executive Director of the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Services (CERGIS) at the University of Ghana, Legon, has reiterated that even though it is good to take precautionary measures, people should not panic.

“There is a world network for earthquake news and I checked that source and I haven’t seen anything like that…I think some people are trying to raise a scare, which may not be true. I don’t think it is real.”

Dr Amamoo-Otchere however noted that earthquake with heavy impact, such as the one in Haiti, are difficult to predict, but assured that even if anything would happen in Ghana, it would be a minor one.

This latest event though a rumour, has got me thinking. Already, one is grateful that natural disasters hardly happen in Ghana. The few ones that seem natural, are actually man-made. Accra is flooded on an annual basis and each time it happens, lives are lost. The floods are typically caused by people erecting permanent structures on water ways and drainages. The huge water from the rain thus builds-up into a flood that invades homes and kills.

Every year, government agencies react, promising to take corrective action including demolishing the wrongly located buildings. Yet, its always the same at the end of the day. Accra gets flooded again because the government took little action the previous year. Thus, I cannot imagine the huge loss of life that would follow an earthquake in Ghana.

Are you in Ghana? How did you hear about the rumour and what was your reaction? Do you have any evacuation plan in case of a real earthquake? What is the most valuable item you would take with you if you were ordered to leave your home/office at short notice? Share your thoughts in the comment area.

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The match between Nigeria and Egypt.

Hossam Ghaly (L) of Egypt views for the ball with Uche Kalu (C) of Nigeria as his teammate Etuhu Dickson (R) eyes them during their group C stage match at the African Cup of Nations CAN2010 at the Ombaka stadium in Benguela on January 12, 2010. Photo by Khaled Desouki.

My tweets:

• Somebody pinch me. Did Egypt just beat Nigeria? Ouch! That hurts! :-p http://bit.ly/5Eo1ft A well-deserved win for Egypt I guess.
• 4 extra minutes. The Egyptian keeper is super excited and jumping all over the pitch. What a night. Nigeria 1 – Egypt 3 http://bit.ly/5Eo1ft
• Agbena!!! (It’s over!!!) Egypt scores yet again. :-p Shame for Nigeria. Its 86th minute and Nigeria 1 – Egypt 3. http://bit.ly/5Eo1ft
• Ball possession: Nigeria 56% and Egypt 44%. If only Nigeria could score more. Kanu is on the pitch! Michell Obi out. http://bit.ly/5Eo1ft
• Nigeria’s number 3 just delivered a deadly shot, literally. The Egyptian goalkeeper caught that ball his own risk. He might b substituted.
• This match is so full of drama and the Egyptians seem to have a better chance of scoring more and more. http://wp.me/povak-u5 Nigeria 1 – Egypt 2.
• Neat catch by the Nigerian goalkeeper. Its Nigeria 1 – Egypt 2 and the Egyptians are not letting-up. They’re pounding the Nigerian defence by the minute. http://wp.me/povak-u5
• Oh NO! Egypt scores again!! Their persistence has finally paid off. :-S Trouble looms for the Nigerian team. http://wp.me/povak-u5
• These Egyptian cats are so persistent about wanting to score. I guess they came for serious business. http://wp.me/povak-u5
• 2nd-half of the Nigeria vrs Egypt match commenced about 5 minutes ago and Nigeria has missed two good scoring chances already. http://wp.me/povak-u5
• Half-time. Egypt 1 – Nigeria 1. Both teams missed good scoring chances. OMG. http://wp.me/povak-u5
• OMG! Egypt scores due to a lousy error by the Nigerian defence. http://wp.me/povak-u5 Sit up boys! Egypt is the defending champion, remember.
• 9ja nearly scores Egypt again! No shaking. http://wp.me/povak-u5
• GOOOOOAAAALLLLL!!! Obasi don score for 9ja ooo. Egypt is in trouble, or so it seems. http://wp.me/povak-u5
• Nigeria vrs Egypt Angola 2010. Who wins? Join the debate: http://wp.me/povak-u5

What is your verdict of this match? Share your thoughts.

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