Ghana: Domestic Debt Restructuring Has Stalled - Four Reasons Why

Ghana is facing multiple financial and economic challenges and has requested a US$3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it restore macroeconomic… Read more »

Ghana: Ghana's Nkrumahist Parties Keep Splitting - a Threat to Their Strength in the 2024 Election

Political parties are not always completely united, as most classical political scientists argue. Dissenting opinions and the scramble for party apparatus tend to trigger internal… Read more »

Nigeria: Ten Factors That Could Affect This Year's NIgerian Polls

As Nigerians inch closer to the February 2023 presidential election, the seventh since the current wave of liberal democracy formally started in 1999, there are at least 10 key… Read more »

Nigeria: New Lekki Port Has Doubled Cargo Capacity, but Must Not Repeat Previous Failures

Three-quarters of the world is covered by water and up to 90% of world trade is seaborne. Seaports and shipping are critical to the conduct of global trade. Read more »

Nigeria: Who Invented Jollof Rice? Senegal Beats Ghana and Nigeria to the Title

The authorship - and therefore origins - of Jollof rice (called Ceebu jën in Senegal according to the Wolof spelling) is the subject of a spicy debate between West African… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's Currency Redesign and Withdrawal Limits - Questionable Policy and Bad Timing

The Central Bank of Nigeria launched new banknotes in November 2022. The new notes came into effect on 15 December 2022. Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's University System Needs Radical Reform

Amid strikes by Nigeria's Academic Staff Union of Universities, one thing is clear: the current funding model for the country's public universities is broken. The government's new… Read more »

Senegal: Ousmane Sembène at 100 - a Tribute to Senegal's 'Father of African Cinema'

1 January 2023 marked the centenary of the birth of Ousmane Sembène, the Senegalese novelist and filmmaker hailed as the "father of African cinema". Over the course of five… Read more »

Ghana: Why Ghana Relies Heavily On Used Cars

The sale of electric cars is growing. Globally, some 2 million electric vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2022 - 75% more than in the first three months of 2021. Most,… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria Has a Coastal Litter Problem - It's Time to Clean Up

Bottles. Plastic bags. Surgical facemasks. These are just some of the 29,029 items we found along the 180km Araromi coastline Nigeria in nine months while studying marine litter.… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria Insecurity - 2022 Was a Bad Year and Points to Need for Major Reforms

2022 has been an eventful year in Nigeria. For one thing, it's been the precursor to the country's general elections, which are due to be held in the first quarter of 2023. That's… Read more »

Nigeria: What's At Stake As Millions Head to the Ballot Box Around the Globe

Predicting the outcome of national elections can be a mug's game. Polls are often wrong, and second-guessing how people will vote months down the line can leave even the most savvy… Read more »

West Africa: West Africa Has Experienced a Wave of Coups - Superficial Democracy Is to Blame

West Africa has seen coups and military takeovers in three countries in 2022. Like those of the past, they came with promises of a quick return to civilian regimes once… Read more »

Benin: Benin Is Building a Theme Park to Remember Slavery - Is History Up for Sale?

The Marina Project is a vast memorial and tourist complex under construction in Ouidah, a coastal town in the Republic of Benin in West Africa. The country hopes to market itself… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's Economy in 2022 - Winners and Losers

At the start of 2022, Nigerians hoped that, with less than two years to the end of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, the government would ramp up its efforts to reduce… Read more »

Benin: Benin Is Building a Themed Park to Remember Slavery - Is History Up for Sale?

The Marina Project is a vast memorial and tourist complex under construction in Ouidah, a coastal town in the Republic of Benin in West Africa. The country hopes to market itself… Read more »

Cameroon: Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis - How the Common Law Court Offers a Ray of Hope

Six years on, the crisis in the Anglophone (English-speaking) regions of Cameroon continues. Recent reports indicate that over 6,000 people have been killed. Read more »

Nigeria: Forced Mass Abortions Are a New and Disturbing Phenomenon in Nigeria

Nigeria classifies abortion as illegal except under certain medical circumstances. A recent investigation by Reuters news agency has alleged that, since 2013, the Nigerian military… Read more »

Nigeria: 2022 Was a Rollercoaster for Nigeria - 4 Essential Reads On What Went Down and How to Fix It

For Nigeria and Nigerians, the year 2022 was a rollercoaster ride of sorts. As a year preceding the country's general elections in 2023, it was expected to hold a lot of political… Read more »

Ghana: Ghana Had a Bad Time in 2022 - 4 Reads to Catch Up On What Happened

Ghana, a country with a good reputation for democracy, human rights, governance and economic growth in Africa, endured a difficult 2022. Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria Failed to Qualify for the World Cup 2022 - Blame Their Disdain for Football School Structures and Development

Nigeria's national men's football team is absent from this year's World Cup in Qatar. It is only the second time since its first appearance in the tournament in 1994 that the Super… Read more »

Ghana: Why Farmers in Northern Ghana Go to Bed Hungry

Ghana is one of the few countries often praised for achieving impressive reductions in hunger. The 2022 Global Hunger Index report reveals Ghana's hunger score has declined by more… Read more »

Nigeria: Contempt of Court in Nigeria - What the Cases of Three Convicted Security Officials Tell Us

Three security chiefs in Nigeria were convicted of contempt of court in November 2022 after failing to comply with various court orders. This is the first time that officials at… Read more »

Nigeria: Jihadists and Bandits Are Cooperating. Why This Is Bad News for Nigeria

The Nigerian state has come under severe security stress in recent times. It has faced multiple national security threats: jihadist groups in the north-east; armed bandits in the… Read more »

Nigeria: Why Women Sometimes Stay With Abusers - Insights From a Nigerian Study

Domestic violence is a public health problem in most parts of the world. A 2021 United Nations report showed that one in three women aged 15-49 years in sub-Saharan Africa had… Read more »