African press review 25 June 2016

The African press is shocked by British exit from European Union and expresses fear of further divisions in British society and the ravaging consequences on fragile economies.

DR

Daily Nation

"Shocked European Union tells Britain to leave quickly"  the Kenyan newspaper reads. This is in the wake of Thursday' leave vote passed by UK citizens in the referendum on EU membership. The Nataion descibes the result as a "thunderous blow to the  bloc adding that it had sent world markets plummeting.

ThisDay

"Cameron falls on his sword as Britain stunned the world and leaves the European Union", the Nigerian publication says. ThisDay holds that the vote split the country along fundmentall lines: old versus young, provincial versus metropolitan, Scotland versus England and native-born Britons versus immigrants.

These divisions, it argues, could be heightened further, if an avowed Euroskeptic enters 10 Downing Street after Prime Minister David Cameron steps down in October as he took cognisance of the verdict of the polls.

Mail and Guardian

"Brexit: the biggest shock since the fall of the Berlin wall", wrote the Johannesburg newspaper across its front page on Saturday. The Mail and Guardian reports that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan moved on Friday to reassure South Africans that the local financial system was sound in the wake of the massive upheaval following the Brexit vote.

It should be recalled that the EU is South Africa’s largest trading partner, accounting for more than 13 billion euros of South Africa’s exports in 2015, while the UK was Pretoria's eighth largest trading partner according to Mail and Guardian.

It says that despite Standard and Poors' forecast of a one percent decrease in the UK's GDP in 2017, it will take two years for Britain and the EU to negotiate the break in their relationship.

Several Nigerian dailies lead with another massacre in the southern Ogun State allegedly committed by suspected Niger Delta militants and oil vandals .

Saturday Punch

The paper holds that its correspondent was able to visit the flashpoint community of Imoshin on Friday, and found out that 18 villages had been deserted , with all commercial activities grounded with schools, churches and mosques locked.

Some papers report that President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking divine intervention to change the hearts of Niger Delta Militants, who are on a campaign of destruction in the oil rich region.

The Nigerian Tribune says Buhari spoke during the breaking of Ramadan fast dinner organised for leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday.

The Tribune quotes Buhari as saying that the militants were using sophisticated technology to blow up the oil installations. Buhari allegedly also agonized at their action which he claimed was discouraging insurance companies from insuring oil and gas facilities in the region, accordingto the paper.

Vanguard

The newspaper quotes the so-called "Ultimate Warriors of the Niger Delta" as saying that they now "boast over 10,000 agitators" who allegedly include "some of Buhari's soldiers and security agents".

The newspaper publishes a statement issued by the militants in which theey reiterate their determination to QUOTE "ruin the Nigerian oil wealth until Nigeria is restructured to reflect a true government of the people”.

The Nation

The paper relays an appeal from leaders of various ethnic ,groups in the Niger Delta urging the federal government to tread carefully in addressing the crisis in the region. According to the newspaper, the chiefs also warned Abuja against compensating criminal activities or encouraging arms struggle.