Africa: Urban Kenyans Mistrust Police Even More Than Rural Residents Do - Study Sets Out Why It Matters

Across the African continent - from Nigeria and Ghana to South Africa - widespread protests have taken place to demand police reform in the wake of police misconduct and brutality.… Read more »

Ghana: Ghana's Electricity Crisis Is Holding the Country Back - How It Got Here

For well over a decade Ghana was exalted as one of the most promising and fastest growing economies on the continent. Read more »

West Africa: Scramble for the Sahel - Why France, Russia, China and the United States Are Interested in the Region

The Sahel, a region 3,860km wide located south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent, has been a focus of attention around the world recently. Read more »

Senegal: Senegal's Small Scale Gold Miners Still Use Poisonous Mercury - How to Reduce the Harm

"Do not fish in these waters." "Contains high levels of mercury." Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's Plantain Wine - a Traditional Drink With Huge Economic Potential

Agadagidi, a wine made from plantain, is a popular drink at festive occasions in Nigeria. But it's not always of a high quality. Read more »

Nigeria: Nollywood Set New Highs in 2023 - Here Are Four of My Favourite Films of the Year

The Nigerian film industry, popularly known as Nollywood, was once seen as a mass producer of poor quality "home videos". It's now become known for increasingly slick films that… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's Flamboyant Aso Ebi Dressing Style Is Popular - but It's Become a Financial Burden

Aso ebi - "family uniform" - is the Yoruba custom of people dressing alike for social events. The custom is rooted in kinship (ebi), an important aspect of Yoruba social life since… Read more »

Nigeria: Black Ghosts - Noo Saro-Wiwa's New Book Is a Powerful Reflection On Africans in China

Noo Saro-Wiwa is a celebrated Nigerian-born travel writer. Her latest book is Black Ghosts. It explores, with candour and compassion, the lives of several African economic migrants… Read more »

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone's Attempted Coup and a Cost of Living Crisis Put Peace to the Test

Attacks on military barracks and prisons in Sierra Leone on 26 November 2023 were a failed coup attempt, according to police and government officials in the west African country of… Read more »

Nigeria: Victor Ekpuk Is a Nigerian Artist Who Uses Ancient African Graphic Writing Systems to Unveil a Stunning New Display of Creativity

Victor Ekpuk is an internationally renowned Nigerian artist known for his artwork inspired by ancient African writing and graphic writing systems. INTERwoven TEXTures is his first… Read more »

Ghana: Ghana's Media Treats Terrorism As a Threat From Outside - It Overlooks Violence At Home

In 2022, 43% of all global terrorism deaths occurred in the Sahel - the region south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent. West Africa had… Read more »

Ghana: Ghana's Shea Industry Is Not Taking Care of the Women Behind Its Growth

Ghana's shea industry has a rich history. Shea - nkuto, karite, galam in some west African languages - is deeply embedded in the culture and tradition of the country's northern… Read more »

Nigeria: Climate Change - 3 Key Goals Nigeria Must Focus On At COP28

Global environmental stakeholders will converge in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from 30 November to 12 December 2023 for the UN Climate conference known as COP28. The… Read more »

Ghana: Ghana Wants to Restrict Imports On 22 Products - An Economist Explains How, Why and What Else Must Be Done

Ghana's Ministry of Trade and Industry has tabled in parliament a proposed ban or restrictions on imports of certain goods, including rice, sugar, poultry, fruit juices and animal… Read more »

Africa: Umaru Shehu - Nigerian Public Health Giant Who Played a Major Role in Polio Eradication

Professor Emeritus Umaru Shehu, who died on 2 October 2023, was born in Yerwa (Maiduguri), Nigeria, in 1930. Widely regarded as one of the country's early leaders in public health… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria Can Defeat Banditry By Reconstructing the Police System - Criminologist

Security in Nigeria has degenerated in the last 10 years. Various non-state armed groups have emerged countrywide. Read more »

Ghana: Patients' Beliefs About Illness Matter - The Case of Elephantiasis in Rural Ghana

Would you take medication for an illness you didn't believe you had? Or if you disagreed with healthcare workers about the cause of your condition? Read more »

Ghana: Akosombo Dam Disaster Reveals a History of Negligence That Continues to This Day

Recent heavy downpours in the Lower Volta area of Ghana led to the worst flooding in the region's history. The flooding was caused by a spillage (a deliberate release of water)… Read more »

Africa: West Africa's Plastic Waste Could Be Fuelling the Economy Instead of Polluting the Ocean - Experts

Plastic pollution is an urgent environmental issue, globally. Every year, about eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans. Read more »

Nigeria: 'One-Chance' in Lagos - How Criminal Gangs Rob City Commuters

"One-chance" is the name Nigerians use for a form of robbery that takes place in both public and private vehicles when people accept the offer of a ride. It is an organised crime,… Read more »

Ghana: Ghanaians Don't Trust the Police. A Criminologist On What Needs to Be Done About It

The relationship between Ghanaian citizens and officers of its police service is a tenuous one. Recent reports by the research network Afrobarometer show a decline in trust between… Read more »

West Africa: Kora - in Search of the Origins of West Africa's Famed Stringed Musical Instrument

"How come we've never heard of this beautiful instrument until now?" This was posted by a first-year college student to my world music course discussion board recently. He voiced… Read more »

Nigeria: Concrete Versus Asphalt for Nigeria's Roads - Which Is Better?

Nigeria's new works minister, David Umahi, is pushing for the use of rigid pavement in road construction, as against the flexible pavement predominantly in use. This, as the… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigeria's Women Vice-Chancellors - I Know What It's Like to Be One, and Why There Are So Few

The secretary-general of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors in Nigeria recently disclosed that only 38 women have been vice-chancellors of universities in Nigeria since 1960, out of… Read more »

Nigeria: Niger Delta Is Rich in Resources, but Environmental Destruction Is Pushing People Into Poverty

Nigeria's Niger Delta region is rich in natural resources. Its vast oil and gas deposits are the mainstay of the country's economy. Read more »