July 02
Nigeria: Why Nigeria Must Return to Indigenous Cattle in Solving Farmer-Herder Clashes.
Historically, the image of a typical Southern Nigerian farmer was never complete without the muturu cattle breed grazing quietly behind the homestead. It was often tethered at the… Read more »
June 30
Nigeria: Blaming the Weather for the Fire
Nigeria's terrorism crisis has deeper roots than Tinubu admitted in London Read more »
June 24
Benin: Benin's New President Seeks New Outreach to Togo and Niger
On May 24, 2026, former Beninese finance minister under the outgoing president Patrice Talon, Romuald Wadagni, was sworn into office as the President of Benin. His election was… Read more »
June 18
Niger: The Politics of Jobless Growth Under Tinubu
On 29 May 2023, moments after taking the oath of office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared: "Fuel subsidy is gone." The announcement marked the beginning of one of the most… Read more »
June 17
Africa: The CFA Franc Is Not a Currency. It Is a Constitutional Constraint
The debate about the CFA franc keeps happening on the wrong terrain. Read more »
June 15
Africa: Mali. the Missing Structural Factor
On 25 April 2026, Mali faced its most severe test in fourteen years. Coordinated JNIM and FLA attacks struck seven major population centres including Kati, Mopti, Gao, and Kidal,… Read more »
June 11
Liberia: Migration - Why This Policy Field Is Emerging As a Priority in Liberia
All across West Africa, migration policy-making has become a top priority. Not least related to the externalisation pressures of the European Union (EU) and its members',… Read more »
Nigeria: What Lagos Planned for Precious Seeds
In December 2025, Lagos State bulldozers tore down Precious Seeds, a waterfront settlement in Oworonshoki. Esther Udoh had been driven out of the same site once before, by a fire… Read more »
May 27
Africa: The Dangote Refinery and the End of Africa's Engineered Dependency
For decades, Africa's place in the global oil economy was not merely subordinate; it was designed to be so. Read more »
May 13
Mali: Azawad Never Left - Reading Mali's 2026 Crisis Through 2012
On 25 April 2026, Mali appeared to enter a new and dramatic phase of crisis. Explosions and gunfire were reported around Bamako and Kati, while attacks struck several parts of the… Read more »
May 05
Nigeria: Nigeria's Road to Undemocratic Elections in 2027
Nigeria's next presidential election is scheduled for 2027. But if current trends continue, the real contest may already be over, further worsening the instability in Nigeria. Read more »
May 04
Africa: Bamako Under Siege - How Coordinated Attacks Exposed the Mali Government's Fragility - and Tested the Aes
The coordinated attacks that shook Mali on 25-27 April 2026 are not an anomaly. They are the culmination of a long, deteriorating security trajectory--one that has steadily eroded… Read more »
April 30
Ghana: From Tragedy to Resilience - Women Farmers in Ghana Turn to Agroecology to Confront Climate Change
In Ghana's transitional ecological belt, where once-dense forests are steadily giving way to savannah, climate change is no longer a distant concern but an everyday reality.… Read more »
April 27
Nigeria: Nigeria's Fiscal Origins and the Politics of Taxation Today
In his post-amalgamation report to the Colonial Office, Lord Lugard proclaimed triumphantly the "astonishing results" of the administrative merger of the Northern and Southern… Read more »
April 16
Guinea Bissau: A Death in Bissau - Vigário Luís Balanta and the Risks of Civic Life in Guinea-Bissau
The body of Vigário Luís Balanta was found on March 31, 2026, in the Ndam area, about 30 kilometers from Bissau. Early reporting and statements from the UN human… Read more »
April 14
Ghana: Ghana's Cocoa Crisis Is Not a Price Story - It Is a Governance Failure
In February 2026, Ghana did something it had not done in living memory. It cut the guaranteed farm-gate cocoa price by 28.6 percent in a single announcement - from GH₵58,000 to… Read more »
February 26
Africa: The Hollowing of Sovereignty - Nigeria's Trilemma and the Retreat of the State
In early February, an insurgent group attacked communities in Kwara, North Central Nigeria, killing over a hundred people. President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack, ordered the… Read more »
January 27
Nigeria: A Mirage of Extraversion - The Political Cost of Nigeria's Lobbying Deal
The Nigerian government has recently engaged the services of a Washington-based lobbying firm to promote its efforts at protecting the lives of Nigerians against terrorists,… Read more »
January 12
Africa: Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso - a Shared History Collides With Political Fractures
For many decades, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Mali constituted one of the most integrated spaces of human and economic circulation in West Africa. Beyond simple… Read more »
November 12, 2025
Cameroon: Cameroon's Presidential Election - Playing With Numbers Is a Dangerous Game
This article presents a personal view and analysis of data from Cameroon's presidential election by Guillaume Tanga, a data and finance professional from Cameroon. Read more »
September 22, 2025
Africa: Delinking, Islam, and a New Vision for Burkina Faso
The political drama unfolding in Burkina Faso feels ripped from the headlines. The expulsion of French troops, the pivot to Russia, the fiery speeches by Captain Ibrahim… Read more »
September 12, 2025
Cote d'Ivoire: Will Alassane Ouattara Secure a Fourth Term?
Having emerged as the leader of Côte d'Ivoire in April 2011, following bloody post-electoral violence that cost 3,000 lives, President Alassane Ouattara is preparing to seek… Read more »
Africa: Performative Democracy and Gender Equity in Ghana
Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from… Read more »
August 11, 2025
Africa: Côte d'Ivoire - Silent Fear As the 2025 Presidential Election Approaches
Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from… Read more »
August 25, 2017
Togo: 50 Years of Hurt - Togo Protesters Vow to Continue
After years of government stalling, demonstrators are demanding electoral reforms, including the reinstatement of term limits. Read more »
