African economic forum 2014: Top quotes of the day May 8th 2014

The 24th World Economic Forum on Africa is taking place in Abuja, Nigeria bringing together regional and global leaders to discuss innovative structural reforms and investments that can sustain the continent’s growth while creating jobs and prosperity for all its citizens.

China and Africa face many similar problems and share the same task of growing the economy, raising living standards and promoting social progress.

Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China

The African continent is rising. We must ensure that our poorer and vulnerable neighbors are carried along. We must ensure this growth is inclusive. We must ensure there is maximum inclusiveness through creating opportunities for people to create opportunities for themselves.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President of Nigeria

Africa is an article of faith. I believe in this continent.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Africa

Social development vulnerabilities are the Achilles heel of “Africa rising”.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance of Nigeria

Africa represents our fastest-growing region in the world. If you want to be relevant, you need to be in this part of the world.

Dominic Barton is Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Africa

When it comes to African women, what they need is someone to believe in them.
Marieme Jamme is the Founder of SpotOne Global Solutions and a Young Global Leader

Africa has been rising for a long time. I hope we will eventually get to a point where we have risen.
Albert Kobina Essien is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Transnational

The government of Nigeria has been “somewhat derelict in its responsibility” Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton today called the kidnapping of more than 250 school girls in Nigeria “abominable”, “criminal” and “an act of terrorism.”

The government of Nigeria has been “somewhat derelict in its responsibility” to protect children, she said in a conversation with ABC’s Robin Roberts. “They need to make it a priority.”

The former secretary of state added, “The Nigerian government must accept help.” ( ?)

“It’s horrible," she said.

Clinton’s comments came as global uproar continues to mount over the fate of the hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in mid-April, and just one day after UNICEF confirmed the abduction of 8 more girls.

The White House announced it is sending a team to Nigeria to aid the effort to find the girls and those responsible. 

Wow! Women of Nigeria made the world pay attention.

Women are no longer powerless, let there be no doubt, The reason the United States is sending help, Nigeria is accepting it and the entire world is paying attention is that the women of Nigeria demanded it. Nigerian women from the town of Chibok in the northeastern Borno state, the mothers, sisters, relatives and friends of the schoolgirls, launched their protests and set off the #BringBackOurGirls campaign that swept away weeks of international apathy.
At a rally in Abuja, one woman held up a sign that read "Can Anyone Hear Me?" The long-delayed answer was a most emphatic "Yes," which resonated across the oceans and echoed in the American senate, Nigerian presidential palace. and all over the world.
Sure, the decisions are mostly up to male politicians, but in Washington, all the women members of the Senate, 20 of them, signed a letter to the president of the United States demanding a firm response. They did it without hesitation and without regard to political affiliation.
The tragedy of the Nigerian girls was grotesquely highlighted in a video by a laughing Abubakr Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram. He declared "Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women."
The revolting message encapsulated the distilled essence of women's plight in many corners of the world. And the response shows a phenomenon of both spontaneous and organized pushback from women's groups, from the millions of men who join them, and from the forces that social media can unleash across cyberspace.
It is a movement that begins with the grassroots, moved into cyberspace and powers its way into the halls of power!
Just a few days ago, the world was barely paying attention to Nigeria's abducted schoolgirls. Today, the whole world is watching, help is on the way. That is what the women of Nigeria have accomplished.
Shekau and his men didn't see it coming. All hail Chibok women! all hail the Nigerian women. 

Boko Haram: U.S. military to assist with intelligence, mission planning and hostage

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday offered a reward of about $310,000 for information leading to the rescue of the girls.
"While calling on the general public to be part of the solution to the present security challenge, the Police High Command also reassures all citizens that any information given would be treated anonymously and with utmost confidentiality," the Nigeria Police Force said in a statement.
The federal government also has accepted U.S. and British offers of assistance,
U.S. military officials are to establish a "coordination cell" to provide intelligence, investigations and hostage negotiation expertise, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. The cell will include U.S. military personnel, she said.
The joint coordination cell will be established at the U.S. Embassy in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the work is expected to begin immediately.
The Pentagon has started planning for how it can assist Nigeria against the insurgence,  a senior U.S. military official hinted that U.S. military assistance will likely be limited to intelligence, mission planning and hostage negotiation, U.S officials told CNN, It's unlikely at this point that U.S. troops would be involved in operations, the officials said.
British officials will send a small team of experts to complement the U.S. team, a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday. The spokesman didn't specify the nature of the team's expertise.