Nigerians, in the main, have a tendency to do what they are not supposed to do, especially if proscribed by law. Such disregard for ‘man-made’ laws is deeply imprinted in the national ethos, and has many inspirations; but foremost amongst the rationale commonly adduced is that the originators of such laws are illegitimate – dictators, and corrupt politicians. And just as Nigerians were getting some respite from Boko Haram, another group that calls itself Shi’ites or the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, led by Sheikh El-Zakzaky, has received its own inspirational mandate for what is yet to be deciphered. Many of…
Author: CASADE
Martin Meredith. Reviewed By Danny Yee. The Fate of Africa is a lively and accessible history of Africa over the last fifty years. Narrative histories of individual countries with a focus on people and key events make for easy reading, though the content itself is mostly rather depressing. Meredith’s approach is broadly chronological and geographical, but not strictly so. Somalia, for example, is covered in a single chapter which focuses on the 1990s and is placed near the end of the book. Typical chapters are largely independent and cover one country or a group of related countries over a period…
*Sheila Kinya Gitonga and John Hirsch. It took many by surprise when, on September 1, Kenya’s Supreme Kenyatta’s initial official response sought to calm potential street violence, stating that, while he did not agree with Chief Justice Maraga’s decision, he would accept the results and go forward with a re-run of the election. Since then, Kenyatta has escalated his rhetoric, saying the justices were “crooks” who had subverted the people’s will; Odinga has been similarly scathing about Jubilee’s intention to maintain power by any means necessary. As preparations for the August 8 elections drew near, the memory of the 2007,…
Brenda Law DAKAR, Senegal – “Peacekeeping is centered on building the trust of those we are here to protect. You cannot abuse and protect the population at the same time. Any allegation undermines the morale of those soldiers who do not commit abuses, undermining our will to perform our duties. This is why as Commander I take this issue extremely seriously; SEA undermines the trust in us from the population and reduces our ability to fight.” – South African Lt. Gen. Derrick Mgwebi, Force Commander, UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). The SEA referred to…
Yun Sun. Early in September, 2015, more than a hundred Chinese and African think tank scholars and government officials participated in the Fourth China-Africa Think Tanks Forum, hosted in 2015 by the South African government in Pretoria. The forum’s theme was Africa’s Agenda 2063, with the discussion dwelling heavily on the future of Sino-Africa relations and the upcoming Sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in South Africa this December. The forum is a good example of China’s heightened efforts to strengthen its soft power in Africa and to seek influence at an intellectual level on top of its already…
Benjamin Friedman. The most pressing economic problem of our time is that so many of what we usually call “developing economies” are, in fact, not developing. It is shocking to most citizens of the industrialized Western democracies to realize that in Uganda, or Ethiopia, or Malawi, neither men nor women can expect to live even to age forty-five. Or that in Sierra Leone 28 percent of all children die before reaching their fifth birthday. Or that in India more than half of all children are malnourished. Or that in Bangladesh just half of the adult men, and fewer than one…
Daryl Collins, et el. Reviewed By David Guinn. Portfolios of the Poor gave me the same feeling of excitement as the World Bank’s epic ‘Voices of the Poor’ study. Both of them are the fruit of intense scrutiny of the real lives of poor people that uncovers insights and destroys stereotypes. Poor people are most definitely not financial illiterates, but often sophisticated managers of complex financial portfolios that are essential to their survival. Portfolios of the Poor is a financial fly-on-the-wall account of how poor people manage money. To find out, the researchers set up ‘financial diaries’ with 250 households…
Andria Almond. MOGADISHU, Somalia – The African Union Mission in Somalia’s (AMISOM) capabilities to provide security in the region were recently strengthened when U.S. military members of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) delivered nearly 20 vehicles and two storage containers to the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) here, Sept. 25. The transfer of assets falls in line with security cooperation goals and AFRICOM’s aim to assist regional organizations in strengthening their defense capabilities against security threats posed by violent extremist organizations (VEOs). Brig. Gen. Miguel A. Castellanos, deputy commanding general for CJTF-HOA in…
John Campbell*. President Donald Trump’ new order banning most travel to the United States applies to seven states—Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, North Korea, and, for some reason, Chad. To include Chad on that list is, to say the least, bewildering. Chad has been a key ally in the struggle against terrorism in the Sahel. It is a U.S. partner in the Trans Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP), and the United States Navy and Marines have supplied limited training to Chad’s armed forces, while the country has hosted U.S.-organized, multilateral military exercises. The Chadian military is generally regarded as one…
Michael Greenstone.* It is nearly impossible to overstate the role of access to reliable energy as a critical determinant of growth. Greater access to reliable energy transforms lives and economies in an almost uncountable number of ways including: income generation; greater economic specialization; and more enjoyable leisure; substitution of labour with capital that increases productivity; creation of small businesses and enterprises; facilitating the reallocation of household time (especially by women) from energy provision to improved education; protection from extreme temperatures; access to greater market size due to lower transportation and communication costs; and potential health improvements due to reduced indoor…