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Five Things To Know About Gabon

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Five key facts about Gabon, where military officers on Wednesday announced that they had taken power following elections that, according to official results, were won by President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

The Bongos

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The small central African state has been ruled by the same family for more than 55 out of its 63 years since independence from France in 1960.

Bongo, 64, who was seeking a third term in Saturday’s election, took over when his father Omar died in 2009 after nearly 42 years in power.

Bongo senior, who took office in 1967, had the reputation of a kleptocrat — one of the richest men in the world, with a fortune derived from Gabon’s oil wealth.

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READ ALSO: Coup: Why We Took Over Power — Gabon Army

His son grew up the carefree scion of a wealthy ruling family and was once known by his initials of ABO, Ali B — or, less flattering, “Monsieur Fils” (Mr Son).

In October 2018, Bongo suffered a stroke that sidelined him for 10 months. The episode stoked claims he was unfit to rule and fuelled a minor attempted coup.

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Oil powerhouse

Gabon is one of the richest countries in Africa in terms of per-capita GDP, thanks largely to oil revenues and the small population of 2.3 million.

In the 1970s, the country discovered abundant oil reserves offshore, allowing it to build a strong middle class and earn the moniker “central Africa’s little emirate”.

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READ ALSO: JUST IN: Gun Battle In Gabon As Soldiers Seize Power

Oil accounts for 60 percent of the country’s revenues.

But a third of the population still lives below the poverty line of $5.50 per day, according to the World Bank.

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Africa’s ‘Eden’

Forests cover 88 percent of the surface of Gabon, providing a haven for gorillas, buffalo, panthers, elephants, chimpanzees and other species.

The country, which markets itself as the “last Eden”, has become a major advocate for conservation in a region where wildlife is being battered by wars, habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade.

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In 2002, it set up a network of 13 national parks covering 11 percent of its territory.

One of the big success stories is conservation of critically endangered African forest elephants. Their global numbers have fallen 86 percent in 30 years but in Gabon they have doubled in a decade.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Needs N2trn To Achieve Net Zero Emissions By 2060 – Energy experts

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Healer or hallucinogenic?

A powerful psychoactive root found in Gabonese forests is used to make a drug that has been touted as a potential healer of heroin and cocaine addiction.

The hallucinogenic iboga root has long been used in an ancestral ritual known as “bwiti”, which combines worship of forest spirits with elements of Christianity.

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High doses can have effects similar to LSD, mescaline or amphetamines, and cause anxiety, extreme apprehension and hallucinations.

But the pill form of the drug, ibogaine, has also been hailed for helping some drug addicts kick their habit.

Treatment centres using the drug have sprung up in countries including Costa Rica, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

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READ ALSO: Niger Coup: Pro-democracy Group Protests In Katsina, Seeks Bazoum’s Release

Star striker

Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a former Chelsea forward, was one of the best strikers in the world in his heyday.

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From Germany’s powerhouse Borussia Dortmund, where he stood out, he moved to Arsenal in 2018 and became joint top-scorer in the Premier League a year later.

For disciplinary issues Aubameyang was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy and his contract ripped up, after which he moved to Barcelona, then Chelsea before joining Olympique de Marseille.

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NAFDAC Warns Against Use Of Excess Hydroquinone In Cosmetics

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned users of bleaching creams to refrain from using products containing excessive hydroquinone to safeguard their health.

NAFDAC Bauchi State Coordinator, Mr Hamis Yahaya, advised in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Tuesday.

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Hydroquinone is a skin-lightening agent used to treat hyperpigmentation, such as melasma and age spots.

READ ALSO: NAFDAC Alerts Public To Fake Antimalarial, Aflotin

Yahaya said that the approved quantity of the chemical substance in cosmetics was only two per cent.

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According to him, NAFDAC conducts checks on market products to ensure public health and safety.

The black colour provides natural protection against harmful radiation due to melanin content.

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“Applying creams with hydroquinone contents more than two per cent is harmful. Mixing creams by non-experts is wrong.

“Hydroquinone affects the health of the users gradually, including causing cancer,” he said.

Yahaya urged the media to raise awareness about the dangers of cosmetics that could endanger consumer lives.

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AU Helicopter Crashes In Somali Capital – State Media

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An African Union helicopter crashed Wednesday at the airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu with eight people onboard, state media said.

The aircraft was part of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), tasked with fighting the Al-Shabaab militant group.

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The state media agency Sonna said the AUSSOM helicopter, carrying eight people, “crashed during landing at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde Airport this morning after departing Balidoogle”.

READ ALSO:Man Jailed Seven Years For N11.4m Enugu Land Fraud

The fire has been contained, and authorities are assessing the situation,” it said in a post on X.

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Sonna quoted the country’s civil aviation authorities as saying that “flight operations remain normal”.

There were no further details given, but unverified clips and images shared online showed a plume of black smoke over the city.

The AUSSOM mission faces funding difficulties, even as fears of an Al-Shabaab resurgence are stoked by attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.

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Australia Cancels Kanye West Visa Over ‘Heil Hitler’ Song

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Australia has cancelled US rapper Kanye West’s visa over his song glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, the government said Wednesday.

The 48-year-old musician, who has legally changed his name to Ye, released “Heil Hitler” on May 8, the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

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West — whose wife Bianca Censori is Australian — has been coming to Australia for some time because he has family in the country, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

READ ALSO:Kanye West’s Website Goes Down After Nazi T-shirt Sales

He’s made a lot of offensive comments. But my officials looked at it again once he released the ‘Heil Hitler’ song and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.”

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Burke said the rapper’s cancelled visa was not intended for holding concerts.

“It was a lower level, and the officials still looked at the law and said: You’re going to have a song and promote that sort of Nazism — we don’t need that in Australia,” he told public broadcaster ABC.

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Asked if it was sustainable to bar such a popular figure, the minister said: “I think what’s not sustainable is to import hatred.”

But he said immigration officials reassess each visa application.

Australian citizens have freedom of speech, Burke added.

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But we have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.”

AFP

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