This DAY IN History

21st November

ON THIS DAY IN 2017, ROBERT MUGABE FORMALLY RESIGNED AS PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE, AFTER THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS IN OFFICE


On 6 November 2017, Mugabe sacked his first vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
This fueled speculation that he intended to name his wife Grace as his successor.

Grace was very unpopular with the ZANU-PF old guard.

On 15 November 2017, the Zimbabwe National Army placed Mugabe under house arrest as part of what it described as an action against "criminals" in Mugabe's circle.

On 19 November, he was sacked as leader of ZANU-PF, and Mnangagwa was appointed in his place.

The party also gave Mugabe an ultimatum to resign by noon the following day, or it would introduce an impeachment resolution against him.

In a nationally televised speech that night, Mugabe refused to say that he would resign.

In response, ZANU-PF deputies introduced an impeachment resolution on 21 November 2017, which was seconded by the MDC-T.

The constitution stipulated that removing a president from office required a two-thirds majority of both the House of Assembly and Senate in a joint sitting.

However, with both major parties supporting the motion, Mugabe's impeachment and removal appeared all but certain.

As per the constitution, both chambers met in joint session to debate the resolution.

The debate took place at a conference centre, since Parliament House was not large enough for a joint sitting.

Hours after the debate began, the Speaker of the House of Assembly read a letter from Mugabe announcing that he had resigned, effective immediately.

Mugabe and his wife negotiated a deal before his resignation, under which he and his kin are exempted from prosecution, his business interests will remain untouched, and he would receive a payment of at least $10 million.



THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

20th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1985, MICROSOFT WIDOW 1 WAS RELEASED


Otherwise known as the Windows 1.0, It was a graphical personal computer operating environment developed by Microsoft.
Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop applications for Apple's January 1984 original Macintosh, the first mass-produced personal computer with a graphical user interface (GUI) that enabled users to see user friendly icons on screen.
Windows 1.0 was released as the first version of the Microsoft Windows line.
Despite positive responses to its early presentations and support from a number of hardware and software makers, Windows 1.0 was received poorly by critics.
Critics felt Windows 1.0 did not meet their expectations.
In particular, they felt that Windows 1.0 put too much emphasis on mouse input at a time when mouse use was not yet widespread; not providing enough resources for new users; and for performance issues, especially on systems with lower computer hardware specifications.
Despite these criticisms, Windows 1.0 was an important milestone for Microsoft, as it introduced the Microsoft Windows line, and in computer history in general


THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

18th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1925, A FORMER NIGERIA MILITARY OFFICER, WHO WAS THE FIRST VICE PRESIDENT AND THE SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE NOW DEFUNCT REPUBLIC OF BIAFRA DURING THE NIGERIA CIVIL WAR OF 1967 TO 1970, GENERAL PHILLIP EFFIONG, WAS BORN IN IBIONO-IBOM, IN TODAY’S AKWA-IBOM STATE, IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA






Philip Effiong joined the Nigerian Armed Forces on 28 July 1945.

He received the Queen's Commission following his officer cadet training at Eaton Hall in Chester, England in 1956.
He was later commissioned for duty in the Rhine, Western Germany.

He was then transferred to the Nigeria Army Ordnance Corps; then to England for further training after a peace-keeping stint in the Republic of Congo in 1961.

He was Nigeria's first Director of Ordnance.

Efiong was one-time Chief of General Staff of Biafra under Head of State, Odumegwu Ojukwu during the Nigeria-Biafra war.

When Biafra's military resistance collapsed, Ojukwu fled to Côte d'Ivoire and Effiong became Head of government in Biafra.

Efiong assumed leadership in this situation of turmoil, starvation, and collapse.

He became acting Head of State of Biafra on 8 January 1970 and on 12 January announced surrender.

On January 15, 1970 at Dodan Barracks in Lagos, in the presence of General Gowon, Effiong announced the end of the Biafran conflict.

He signed the instrument of surrender of Biafra to Nigeria and general Yakubu Gowon accepted the Instrument of surrender on 15th January 1970 to officially bring an end to the 30-month violent conflict.

General Effiong also published his memo on the war which is titled “Nigeria/Biafra War: My experience.

General Phillip Efiong died on the 6th of November 2003, at the age of 78 less than two weeks to his 79th birthday.



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16th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1990, POP GROUP MILLI VANILLI WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR GRAMMY AWARD BECAUSE THE DUO DID NOT SING AT ALL ON THE GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE ALBUM.
SESSION MUSICIANS HAD PROVIDED ALL THE VOCALS

It became one of the most embarrassing moment in World entertainment.
All or Nothing is the debut album by dance pop duo and released only in Europe on the Hansa label in November 1988. In 1989, it was repackaged and retitled Girl You Know It's True for release in the United States on the Arista label, with several of the original album tracks replaced and/or remixed.
After 1990, due to lip-synching allegations, a disclaimer sticker was added on the cover to explicitly name the singers who provided vocals on the album.
Although All or Nothing was replaced in America with Girl You Know It's True, All or Nothing is available on the American iTunes Store.
In December 1990, singer-songwriter David Clayton-Thomas sued Milli Vanilli for copyright infringement, alleging that the title track of All or Nothing used the melody from his 1968 composition "Spinning Wheel", a hit for his group Blood, Sweat & Tears.
All or Nothing was included in Q magazine's 2006 list of the 50 worst albums ever made.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

16th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1945 THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION OTHERWISE KNOWN AS UNESCO WAS FOUNDED

UNESCOO is a specialised agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the arts, the sciences, and culture.
It has 193 member states and 11 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental, and private sector.
Headquartered at the World Heritage Centre in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions that facilitate its global mandate.
UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
Its constitution establishes the agency's goals, governing structure, and operating framework.
UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the Second World War, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among nations.
It pursues this objective through five major program areas: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information.
UNESCO sponsors projects that improve literacy, provide technical training and education, advance science, protect independent media and press freedom, preserve regional and cultural history, and promote cultural diversity.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION