INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 2014 Prominent Nigerian cleric, the Emir of Kano, dies at 83 KANO: One of Nigeria’s most prominent Islamic lead- All roads leading to the emir’s palace were blocked secular government. The leader of Nigeria’s Muslims, ers, the Emir of Kano, has died after a long battle with by police and traffic redirected, as security was tight- the Sultan of Sokoto, has also been threatened. Boko cancer, a palace official said yesterday. He was 83. ened in anticipation of a visit by dignitaries to pay Haram last month killed the Emir of Gwoza in Borno “From Allah the Almighty we are and to Allah the their respects, an AFP reporter said. Palace officials- state, Idrissa Timta, while travelling by road to the Almighty we return. The Emir of Kano passed away this so-called “kingmakers”-had also arrived for a closed- funeral of another cleric. Two other traditional mon- morning. His burial will be conducted at 4:00 pm (1500 door session to determine the three names that will archs escaped unhurt. GMT),” royal courtier Mahe Bashir Wali announced on be submitted to the Kano state government for Critics have suggested that the three senior mon- state-run Radio Kano. approval as Bayero’s successor. archs could have taken bolder action against the Ado Abdullahi Bayero, who with the Sultan of Those tipped to be in the running include the for- Islamist insurgents to stem the bloodshed, which has Sokoto and Shehu of Borno was part of the triumvirate mer governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi killed thousands since 2009. A senior security source of influential traditional monarchs in the Muslim-major- Lamido Sanusi, who is the grandson of the late emir’s told AFP last month that the rulers could have played a ity north, had been emir since 1963. He had kept a low- brother. Sanusi was suspended as CBN governor by greater role in tackling the insurgency and helping to profile recently because of his illness and had been the government in February on charges of financial secure the release of 219 schoolgirls still held hostage receiving treatment in a London hospital, according to recklessness and misconduct, soon after he alleged by the group. palace and state government sources. President that Nigeria’s state-run oil firm had misappropriated The Emir of Kano was a well-regarded figure in the Goodluck Jonathan expressed his condolences in a $20 billion (14.7 billion euros) in revenue. Another northern state and was seen as a key link between tra- statement, calling the emir’s passing “a national loss” name in the frame is one of the emir’s sons, Aminu dition and modernity, leading the region’s clerics as the and describing him as “one of the most respected tradi- Ado Bayero, who holds a royal title and is currently a custodian of Islam in the region. Local politicians up to tional rulers”. popular district head in Kano. the state governor also sought his opinion and counsel, “President Jonathan believes that Alhaji Ado Bayero and he was seen as a bridge between Muslims and will always be remembered and honored by the people Assassination attempts Christians in religiously tense Nigeria. A former ambas- of Kano and all Nigerians for his immense wisdom and The Emir of Kano and Shehu of Borno had previously sador to Senegal, Bayero made a fortune in stock-mar- competence as a traditional ruler, as well as for using survived assassination attempts by Boko Haram insur- ket investments and took over as emir after the short- his exalted throne to build bridges of unity, friendship gents, angered by what they saw as the leaders’ betray- lived reign of his half-brother during the turbulent and harmony across the nation,” his office said. al of Islam for submitting to the authority of Nigeria’s political period after independence in 1960. — AFP Who is Ukraine’s next president? KIEV: More than three months after Ukraine’s president fled to Russia in the wake of months of street protests, Petro Poroshenko is to be inaugu- rated today as the troubled country’s new leader. The billionaire, widely called “the Chocolate King” because his fortune is rooted in the candy busi- ness, faces huge challenges posed by the violent insurgency in Ukraine’s east and the country’s stumbling, corruption-plagued economy. A look at Poroshenko and what’s ahead for him: The 48-year-old, who is estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth $1.6 billion, started his rise by importing cocoa beans into the Soviet Union in 1991. The project ballooned into the immense- ly popular candy manufacturer Roshen, the foun- dation of a business empire that now includes ship-building and one of the country’s most influ- ential TV stations. Unlike many other Ukrainian billionaires, Poroshenko did not make his money in murky post Soviet privatizations, boosting his reputation as a “good tycoon.” WHAT ARE HIS POLITICS? BERLIN: Ukraine president-elect Petro JERUSALEM: A Palestinian protester poses as he holds a sign in Arabic reading: ‘Al-Aqsa Poroshenko began his political career in 1998 Poroshenko attends a joint news conference Mosque is our red line’ during a rally marking “Naksa Day”, the 47th anniversary of the as a lawmaker in a Russia-friendly party and went with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. — AP 1967 Six Day War, in front of the Dome of the Rock on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in on in 2001 to help found Party of Regions, the the Old city of Jerusalem yesterday. — AFP political engine behind ousted president Viktor relations with Moscow should be equal and Yanukovych. But in 2004 he threw his weight should not undermine Ukrainians’ desire for clos- behind the Orange Revolution protests that arose er ties with the European Union, he says. Jailbreak in Congo claims 4 lives after fraud-plagued presidential elections. He served as head of national security for a BUKAVU: At least four people were killed Kivu Civil Society organization, told AFP there WHAT WILL HE DO NEXT? few months, but stepped down after months of when 301 inmates broke out of the main were “at least 1,600 prisoners in this prison” at Poroshenko faces a growing pro-Russian feuding with the prime minister and allegations prison in Bukavu in the east of the Democratic the time of the breakout. Balegamire said that uprising in the east of the country, where officials of improperly trying to help one of Ukraine’s Republic of Congo, the provincial justice minis- the jailbreak was believed to be connected to say more than 200 people have been killed in major tycoons. He later returned to serve as for- ter said yesterday. “The current toll is four peo- “the suspension of the former head of the clashes between insurgents and Ukrainian forces. eign minister, and briefly as economics minister ple dead, two soldiers on guard duty and two prison ... accused of several offences, particu- Many will expect Poroshenko to speedily bring inmates who were trying to escape” on larly extorting payment for visits to inmates, after Yanukovych came to power in 2010. He cat- the conflict under control. He could also defuse it Thursday, said Gisele Balegamire, minister of opening the way for the torture of certain apulted back into the public eye by allying him- through constitutional reforms that devolve justice and human rights in South Kivu detainees by soldiers and the embezzlement self early and openly with the anti-Yanukovych more powers to regions and by giving up certain province, where Bukavu is the capital. of funds allocated to the prison.” protest movement that broke out in late prerogatives, such as the ability to appoint gover- In all, 54 of the escaped detainees had been Staff of the justice division in South Kivu-a November 2013. nors. Ukraine’s cash-strapped government, des- rounded up by yesterday morning, but “three province that has known more than 20 years’ Supporters regard his moving between fac- perate to receive the full $17 billion loan package of them are badly wounded and in hospital for unrest and is rife with armed groups-helped tions as a sign of pragmatism amid Ukraine’s promised by the International Monetary Fund, treatment”, Balegamire told AFP. In an earlier the former prison governor to steal the funds, highly polarized politics. Poroshenko allied with a will have to undertake serious reforms early in toll given hours after the dawn breakout, she added. potential rival, former boxing champion Vitali Poroshenko’s tenure as president. Poroshenko police said two people had been killed and “Several secret meetings have been held ... Klitschko, endorsing him for Kiev mayor as also faces a major hurdle in encouraging lawmak- seven injured. At first light Thursday, inmates to avenge the suspended prison chief and to Klitschko endorsed Poroshenko for president. ers in parliament to agree to hold elections this overpowered warders on duty, “took weapons show that the new chief, who is experienced Poroshenko supports signing an association year instead of in 2017 as scheduled. If he fails, he and managed to open the prison gate”, the since he has already run the jail in Uvira, is agreement with the European Union, but has could face the same challenges as the Orange policeman added. Residents living near the incompetent. These people ... cooperated with spoken against holding a vote on whether Revolution government, which took two years to facility reported awakening to gunfire. some detainees to organise the breakout,” Ukraine should seek NATO membership. He says hold parliamentary elections and soon became Descartes Mponge, president of the South Balegamire said.