Focus on Africa
Chagos Islands: What next after UK hand over?
Britain agrees to give sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius but what follows next?
Why the Islamic police in Kano northern Nigeria is cracking down on sports betting
And why are parents sending very young children to boarding school in Lesotho?
Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Bella Hassan and Nyasha Michelle in London. Frenny Jowi in Nairobi. Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Nick Randell Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
- Broadcast on:
- 04 Oct 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
Hello and welcome to this podcast from the BBC World Service. Please let us know what you think and tell other people about us on social media. Podcasts from the BBC World Service are supported by advertising. Explaining football to the friend who's just there for the nachos, hard. Tailgating from home like a pro with snacks and drinks everyone will love, any easy win. And with Instacart helping deliver the snack time MVPs to your door, you're ready for the game in as fast as 30 minutes. So you never miss a play or lose your seat on the couch or have to go head to head for the last chicken wing. Shop Game Day faves on Instacart and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three gross reorders. Offer valid for a limited time, other fees and terms apply. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from and like what's the history behind bacon wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria. Hi, I'm Maita Gomez-Rejoan. Our podcast, Hungry for History, is back. And this season we're taking an a run bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history. Staying that the most popular cocktail is Margarita followed by the Mojito from Cuba and the Pinucula from Puerto Rico. Listen to Hungry for History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, I'm Charles Guitonga and here is what's coming up for you on this edition of Focus on Africa. We'll tell you why the Islamic police in Kano State in Nigeria are cracking down on sports betting, citing addiction among the youth. Closing it is also good and it's also bad because there are things you are going to derive from a common man that will hone to another thing. And come again to start stealing or you won't stop people on the route in the night to start collecting their funds and other items. So if you deprive people of all those things, it's going to cause program. And out of options why parents in Lesotho are taking their children, some as young as three years to boarding schools. We were confronted with a situation where most of the parents here in Lesotho were migrant laborers. That is both in Lesotho are working outside Massero. And we also had other parents who are working in South Africa. And the challenge now was the care giving for these children. It's Friday the 4th of October. First we go to Cheggos. It's a group of islands in the Indian Ocean which until now the United Kingdom claimed ownership over. But after years of negotiations including a case at the International Court of Justice which Britain lost, the archipelago will now be handed over to Mauritius. Cheggos is of strategic importance particularly the atoll of Diego Garcia which hosts a US military base. The agreement allows the base to remain under the control of the UK and America. The African Union has welcomed the deal calling it a historic political agreement. We've read part of a statement from the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Musa Faki Muhammad. The significant milestone marks a major victory for the cause of decolonization, international law and the rightful self-determination of the people of Mauritius, bringing an end to decades of disputes. Now my colleague Andrew Harding has in fact been to Cheggos and has been explaining this historic deal and its implications to me. Well to begin with there's lots of history here so the British say that these islands were theirs from the very early stages of the 19th century. So from around the time of the Battle of Waterloo, 1812, 1815 around then, when they took them from the French, the Mauritians claim otherwise, they say that they had a long and established relationship with the islands going back centuries too. So there is and it always has been a kind of a rival claim to the islands. And the island does themselves, the people who lived on the Cheggos islands, they have a different view. They say well we were independent to some extent and this has always I think been the case with these islands like the Maldives, like the Seychelles, deep in the Indian Ocean, who have often been claimed by larger continental powers, but feel to some extent that they are their own people, their own cultures and their own territories. But basically fast forward to the last century and in 1968 Mauritius, then part of the British colonial empire, got its independence like other places and as part of the negotiations, the British insisted that they wanted to keep the Cheggos archipelago as British territory. The Mauritians weren't happy about that but they really didn't have much of an option because the British were saying, "If you don't let us have the Cheggos islands, you're not going to hear independence." So they gave them up and the British cut a secret deal with the American government which had been looking for a while for somewhere in the Indian Ocean that they could use as a military base to protect American power deep into that part of the world. And they had their eye on Diego Garcia so they made that deal with the British and set up initially a runway that turned into a navy port that turned into a submarine base and we understand a listening post. And over the decades since then it became a really significant part of the United States global military profile. So there's a lot to unpack there in that answer. So let's start by looking at why it has taken so long for this agreement to be reached where the UK is now returning this islands to Mauritius. Well for the longest time it suited the British, it suited the Americans to have this military base and although the Mauritian government and the Cheggos islanders who'd been kicked off the islands by the British when independence came in 1968, although they'd gone to courts and there'd been some sort of low level diplomatic protests, the Cold War and post Cold War rules sort of applied. So what America wanted, America got, what Britain wanted, Britain got it, the United Nations and these large international gatherings. These were the great powers so Tiny Mauritius really didn't have a say. But over time as the post Cold War era started to change power dynamics with China on the rise, with America no longer the kind of only superpower, relations particularly at the United Nations started to change, the African continent began to speak much more with one voice. In the past it had often been divided by its old colonial ties by the meddling and influence of foreign powers, but increasingly Africa started to speak with one voice. And the message it sent was very clear that Britain was clinging on to a part of its old empire and the decolonization process, which is really at the heart of the UN's mission or a key part of the UN's mission, was incomplete. And so Africa started to demand that this issue and the demands of the chagosians and the Mauritians be taken much more seriously. Other things came to play like Brexit, so once Britain had decided to leave the European Union, European nations, which had always either abstained or backed Britain on the issue of the Chagos Islands, started to rethink and go well hang on, you know, you don't want to be part of our gang, maybe we're not going to back you on this issue. And so it went to a vote at the United Nations General Assembly and overwhelmingly, the world if you like, apart from America and a handful of other countries, backed Mauritius. They sent it to the International Court of Justice, the United Nations top court. And that body unanimously backed Mauritius and said this is an incomplete decolonization process. Britain must hand over those islands to Mauritius, more or less immediately. But Britain kept saying no, you've got your history wrong, these islands belong to us. We have security needs, the Americans have security needs. We're only going to negotiate if we ever negotiate once the islands are not needed for this American military base. I mean it's a long answer, but then things started to get more complicated because things like the Ukraine war happened and Britain realized that it needed African support at the United Nations and in other big international institutions and Britain started to be seen as an unreliable partner in that it was ignoring the International Court of Justice's ruling. It was no longer the lawmaker, it was a lawbreaker in the eyes of many. And so eventually the pressure built, the British government started negotiating back in 2022 when the Conservatives were still in power. That process carried on, a new Labour government came in and they decided look we've just got to get this done. Before Mauritius has elections, before the Americans have elections, we've got a window of opportunity, let's just bite the bullet and cut a deal that will keep the Americans reasonably happy and will allow for a long-term lease on the base, but under Mauritian sovereignty. The last bits of your answer are quite interesting. Was it then more of a negotiation between the UK and America and the UK worrying what other people might think about them? Or was it a process that was very central to the people of Mauritius and without even talking about the Chagosians themselves who are now complaining that they have not been involved in this process? So this was a negotiation formally between Britain and Mauritius over the return of sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius and it covered a huge range of issues, financial issues, there are issues of how to prevent China from potentially intervening and making things more complicated in the area. The Americans played as they often do a kind of shepherding role in this, in driving the negotiations and of course American influence is crucial because the military base is at the heart of this issue. Now it's clear that I think not everyone in America or in Britain was happy with being pushed to give up sovereignty. It was a much easier, happier relationship for America to keep leasing the base from the British because this concerns that a tiny nation like Mauritius could be subject to pressure, particularly from the Chinese, that might, somewhere down the line, bring the sustainability to future of the military base into question. But ultimately Britain decided it wanted to push this through and the Americans accepted that. So that's how the deal got done really very quickly in the end. What are the next steps then? What will happen next in regards to this agreement? So first of all, some of the final details need to be ironed out. The deal is done but the lawyers need to let that deal sit and work out if there are any loopholes or grey areas. And then once that's sorted there will be a treaty signing. And then after that it's one of these strange moments because in some ways this is an extraordinary, historic, hugely symbolic deal. But in other ways nothing will actually change, particularly, certainly not very fast or dramatically. The base will remain there. The process of getting people chagosians back to these islands will take years I suspect and be, as I say, very complex. So on the ground in terms of what we see and what changes, not a lot. The way you've been describing this story Andrew, it gives me a sense that you've been to chagos. Have you been there? What does a place look like? I went to Chagos in 2022 with a Mauritian delegation that had actually launched quite a provocative sort of, some would say it was a PR stunt, but they decided that they were going to go without British permission to the islands. They basically said look the UN has backed us, the UN's top court has backed us. These are our islands, so we are going to go there, we are going to plant flag poles on the islands, we are going to bring back some chagosians to visit their homelands. And we went along and filmed that and reported on that trip. I mean it is stunning place. Your imagined paradise tropical island come to life. These are atolls, so there are coral reefs, heavily thick with coconut, trees, sandy beaches, incredible sea life. Just stunning. The BBC is Andrew hiding. So what do chagosians think about it? Well, Franky Bon Temps is a second generation Chagosian in the UK and she a person for campaign group Chagosian Voices. I mean like the vast majority of Chagosian, we feel betrayed, we are angry, we feel left down by both governors, because since the start of this negotiation, at any time Chagosian had never been involved. How can they decide of the fate of our homeland without us being involved? Chagosian have learned this outcome from the media, not even from the government. While they supposedly been talking to us, but nothing. And we remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland. So the views of the Chagosian, the indigenous inhabitants of the island, has been constantly and deliberately ignored. And we demand full inclusion in the drafting of this treaty. You know, the support consultation that during having I think four or five times. But most of the time, all the questions that we ask about this negotiation, they've been very, they said no, they can't reveal decisions between government and government. And we never knew what was happening, but we know that they were talking about the futures or warranty of the island. But, you know, I feel history is repeating itself, like in 1965, when Mauritius was granted independence and the UK created Bayot. The UK gave Mauritius a compensation of three million pounds. The only victim in this whole tragedy are the Chagosian people themselves. Why don't you listen to us? Frankie Bonteps from Chagosian Voices. Now let's talk about sports betting. An activity many youth on the continent take part in. Nigeria is among the African countries with the largest number of bettas. And in the northern state of Kano, the activity is robbing the community and authorities the wrong way. In Kano City, Islamic police, known as the Hisbar, have launched a crackdown on sports betting shops. They cite their eyes in gambling and diction, and its conflict with Islamic Sharia law, which is enforced alongside the secular law in the state. According to concerned parents and community leaders in the majority Muslim city, gambling is leading young people to drop out of school. But what do the youth in Kano say? "A belief in sports betting shop may not be the most effective solution." The switching personal freedoms can drive activities on the ground, potentially leading to Moham. Instead, I suggest promoting education and awareness about the responsible gambling, protecting vulnerable individuals and ensuring abolition are in place to prevent exploitation. betting is not a good thing, especially for the youth's quasi-kind dream. But considering the state and how things are going in Nigeria, is just a business for a common man. That is why his hope depends. He believes that one day he is going to cash out from there. So closing it is also good, and it's also bad. Because there are things he is going to depress from a common man that will turn to another thing. And to make him to start stealing even the people on the route in the night to start collecting their funds and other items. So that is another thing to consider there. Even in our own, it's called Haram. It's the same. But we are looking at the state of Nigeria. Everything is tight everywhere. Some people are just believing that one day they will just go there with their 1,200 and they will make a million. So the price of all those things is going to cost the problem. So what then is the solution to this problem? And what are the consequences for those who shops who are found to be operating illegally? Here is BBC journalist Mansu Abu Bakr in Kano. In the last couple of years, betting has really gained a lot of ground in Nigeria. And Kano has not been left out. See a lot of youth and young people who are trying to just make quick money, get into it. And you know the economic situation of Nigeria means a lot of people are struggling. So many youth are seeing that as a way out of their present predicament regarding the economic realities. So actually it's a big problem and it's concerned by parents who would make the Islamic police to get involved. Who are the people that are participating in this? Obviously a lot of them would be youth, but are they employed and employed? Yeah, a lot of them are youth students from higher institutions, universities, politics, techniques. Yes, a lot of them use to find out that there are no spots and because we have both viewing centers here, the way you go to pay money than what you feel right in play. That law for football has kind of moved because they've seen it elsewhere. So they think that it's also a way they can also imbibe so that they can also make that money. So that passion for sports has kind of moved into betting because some people are making it and they are seeing it. So they feel it's something they can also do. Between the ages of 16, 18 to 20, so even in the early 30s as well. The Islamic police are involved to crack down on shops that are conducting this kind of business. Why is it that it's being enforced in that kind of religious point of view? Yet we know there are Christian populations in Canada as well. Yes, the Christian population is very minor, over 90% of the population is mostly. And the Islamic police here have been active since the early 2000s. They are very powerful. They had Sharia in Canada who works alongside the circular law. And they've said it several times that they are not after the Christian too. They're not after the Muslims too. And this according to the devotee of Hezbollah who I spoke to for my story, they didn't really decide to go after the betting shops. They've been getting a lot of complaints from parents and community leaders where these shops are based. So that's why they decided to act. If betting is allowed then to continue in the places where Christians live, but not allowed in a majority of the areas where the Muslims live, is that bringing any impact on the social cohesion among the populations in Canada? So that we're meant to be seen out there going to take on that. But I think what they are after now, for example, where they went to, and they're one of the reeds in Minjigal, so in India I moved very well. So they've been able to close 30 shops there of these kinds of things. They said their concern now is to get rid of those shops in their mostly populated areas. Who are the people that run these premises and how are they viewed in the community? So what they said is that these people that run these premises are people that require licenses. But when they want to collect licenses, they give the impression that they will be running video games, which is allowed. They said these bodies, when the police said they don't have a problem with shops where video games are played, but this will later convert those shops to betting centers. The communities where these shops operate have an issue with them, because they said the young people are dropping, not going to school, they're just going to these shops and sitting down, and also there's a kind of a feeling of addiction. They said they've completely been getting from communities that their kids are addicted to these betting, and that's why they decided to take the issue to Israel. So when they conduct these reeds then, how do those operations look like? What is it that they do with the people that are found operating the shops? What they do, the first one they debots to kind of insane like a warning. They just want them crazy shops among those people they are not arrested. But after that they say the next one they will go out to do, then anyone who would shop is still open will be arrested and taken to a Sharia court. So that's a procedure. In general then, how is betting regulated in the state? It's an Islamic state. When you compare it to, for example, Lagos where you have thousands of these shops in Canada, they've been able to limit it to a certain number. Even though the populations are quite similar. Generally, Nigeria betting is not prohibited. It's just that maybe you have to be owned enough to do it. But in Canada, the Islamic religion guides the activities. For example, alcohol, betting, prostitution, all these are illegal, and that's what the Islamic police are trying to enforce. So how is the community then responding to the police's response to the... This Halloween, Ghoul All Out with Instacart. Whether you're hunting for the perfect costume, eyeing that giant bag of candy, or casting spells with eerie décor, we've got it all in one place. Download the Instacart app and get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Offer valid for a limited time, minimum $10 per order, or service fees, other fees, and additional terms apply. Instacart, bringing the store to your door, this Halloween. It took a lifetime to find the person you want to marry. Finding the perfect engagement ring is a lot easier. At blunile.com, you can find or design the ring you've always dreamed of, with help from Blunile's jewelry experts, who are on hand 24/7 to answer questions, and the ease and convenience of shopping online. At a limited time, get $50 off your purchase of $500 or more, with code "listen" at blunile.com. That's $50 off with code "listen" at blunile.com. Outcry that, you know, betting is becoming an addiction, and, you know, the police have responded by conducting a crackdown. What's the community saying about this? The community are happy about it. We've spoken to some of the people who wear the areas where they're related, and they've told me that it's overcome development, because young people are getting too addicted to it, and it's good that an action is taken. You know, we all know gambling is a big problem across the world. Even on the BBC outside, you ended up carrying the store yesterday. You could see a lot of people from Canada, in his position to go after these shops, so they've received it with good things. I wonder how this aspect of addiction, how well it's been assessed, is it really well assessed to the point where it could be proven that, actually, there is an addiction going on, or is it simply the community feeling, "Hold on, this is happening, it should not be happening?" So, I think it's basically the community. You know, how an NGO may be an ongoing mental group, carry out research, or maybe a university to research on this topic. But, like I said, these shops are where people see them, the community see them, and they're seeing young people that are supposed to be in school, every day. I think that's why they feel that, "Okay, this is becoming too much." So, there's a case of feeling of how the community and parents as well, who know that their children go to these jobs, frequent these jobs, because those feel that the election has to be taken. How strong are these police? Are they perceived in carnal? And is this warning that they are giving likely to be heated by the people? Yes, the warning is likely to be heated by the people, because all the new areas with their notices are betting shops are being closed now, because they're just in jail, they're police, they're police that are powerful, they can arrest you and take you to Sharia court, and you don't know how the kids are going to be like, "So, you know, people are fearful of my trouble." Thank you very much, Abu Bakr, for your time. Thank you very much. The BBC's Mansoul Abu Bakr. This is Focus on Africa from the BBC World Service. Would you take your very young child, a toddler, for that matter to a boarding school? Well, in Lesotho, a trend is emerging, where parents are getting their children, some as young as three years old, admitted to boarding schools. This is because they have to travel far to find work, and often that means relocating to neighbouring South Africa. But while solving the problem of unemployment, another issue has cropped up, that of childcare. Most of these young parents need someone to watch over their young children while at work. So, some schools have come up with the idea of a boarding section for children under five years. Let's listen to one of such parents describing the experience. She sent two of her young children there. I'm Mecca Rabila Mafeta. I send my children where they were going to be in the environment, that accommodates little ones. Since my children have been in the school, I think my experiences have been very pleasant, and highly satisfied with what the school does for our children. Not just with the curriculum, but also with the extra mural studies, things like playing chairs, piano, cooking classes, and minimal that our children do. Now, let's hear from Sepiso Ceciuana, a child psychologist with a Child Guidance Centre, one of the schools offering the service in Lesotho. First of all, we started running the preschool, and it is the school that we placed in my home state. Now, over time, we were confronted with a situation where most of the parents here in Lesotho were migrant labourers. That is both in Lesotho, working outside Massero, working out in the district, and we also had other parents who are working in South Africa. And the challenge now was the care giving for these children while parents were away. Most of them were left with nenis, if that makes sense to you, and the grandmothers. The care wasn't so well as you can imagine, because it is quite usual here in Lesotho, for nenis simply to abscond and live children with neighbours. So, that concern was brought to us by parents to see if we could not assist in keeping them and staying with them. One percent of our children come from single families who work in kind of work that take them up and down out of town, and also some of them basically residing in South Africa. So, there was this great need for caring for these children while parents are out trying to make ends meet. For perspective here, these are very young children, give us the specifics, like what edges they are for most of them, and what happens once they are older. We have children that come to our school the moment they have been tailored trained. The young ones who come here, some of them who are not even able to talk, would actually be taken care and receive a special care by mothers, and they would have all sorts of educational games that they have, and of course physical games outside the house. Let me ask you, Mr. Sipiso, what edges are we looking at mostly for their children that are coming to your facility? 3, 4, 6. Okay, go on then. How does the day look like for them and for the staff that look after them? Depending on whether, let's say this is a good day, they wake up around 7 or 6 o'clock, especially the older ones, but the younger ones will be allowed to sleep as much as they want to sleep. But the 4 or 5s will be up by 6 or 7, and then they drink water, and then we train them on how to do their beds, and after they are showering, they put on their clothes. We provide clothing at school for uniform purposes, and then after that we have worship with them, then after the worship, then they have their breakfast. Then from breakfast, then they go to, we have what you call a learning hall. It's not a classroom, per se. It's a hall where they've got waking stations, and then they all go according to their pace as they learn different subjects, which are not necessarily separated, but as they play with these games, there will be geography there for them to learn. They'll be dealing with mathematics and reading. They also have a break for snack time, then after the snack, they continue, then they go for lunch. Then after lunch, it's physical outside, where they play with the football, as you would imagine the physical exercise out there. Can you tell us some of the issues that some of these children have to deal with, and probably also parents who have to sacrifice that time so that they can go work and be away from their children? What are some of the things that they are dealing with that you're helping them go through through counseling? Some of the children that come to our center would be quite violent, if that would be a proper word to use here. Quite aggressive both in a family and physically, and that would be the history that we get from their parents, because we have an interview with a parent about the behavior of the child. So we would have those kinds of violence and aggressive behavior, which we deal with. Some of them will be quite withdrawn, probably because they would have been left alone. I mean, with caregivers and they could have suffered a little bit of abuse in the absence of their parents. That would be cases that we also deal with. Also, we do have conflicts within parents, which sometimes we need to intervene and see how we can reconcile and find peace among some of the parents. So in terms of then the caregivers that you have, what are some of the skills that they need to have to be able to handle such vulnerable, you know, group of people? We have an ongoing training on campus. They must understand a little bit of psychology of the child development and the needs that children have. And also the signs and symptoms that they should observe when the child has a particular need. Yeah, so you've sort of described for us why the parents would need such a service that's giving the child that stability that they need and not having a caregiver present today and not present tomorrow. But are there cons that comes with this, you know, sending very young children to live in the environment of a boarding school? And how are you dealing with those disadvantages of this? Maybe it is important for us to understand that children that come here are obviously vulnerable children. As you would understand and appreciate, you don't want to institutionalize the upbringing of children, children are best kept at home setting. So, children that we take care of, we take care of them because this is a plan B. It is not the ideal situation, but it is the best that we can provide under circumstances. We recommend, we actually not only recommend about a enforce continuous connection with parents. At the end of each month, our children meet their parents and stay with them. For those whose parents are not there, we recommend that there should be relatives who are responsible, who can at least maintain their family connection with these children. So, this is Yohana, a child psychologist in Lesotho. Focus on Africa was put together by Bella Hassan and Nasha Michelle in London. Franny Joey did her bit from here in Nairobi. Paul Bachiminga was a senior producer and Nick Randal was our technical producer. Andrea Lombard and Alice Moudengi are our editors. I'm Charles Guitonga, thanks for listening. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like, what's the history behind bacon wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria. Hi, I'm Maita Gomis Rachon. Our podcast, Hungry for History, is Back. And this season, we're taking a bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history. Staying that the most popular cocktail is Margherita, followed by the Mochito from Cuba. [MUSIC] Listen to Hungry for History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]