If Africa is rising, why are the villages left behind?

In Lagos all the talk is of wealth and economic boom. But a return to my family hometown, still waiting for a tarmac road, tells a different story. I went back to my village in Nigeria this year, after an absence of 10 years. The Igbo are a travelling people: we cross towns, cities, nations

BOKO HARAM EXTENDS ACTIVITIES TO SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Since Boko Haram began major operations about 6 years ago, the group has restricted its attacks to Northern Nigeria. However, the recent arrests of twenty suspected Boko Haram members by the Department of Security Services (DSS) in Lagos and other states suggest the group’s intention to spread its nefarious activities around the country. Residents of these states are expressing

South Africa’s latest disease: Sinophobia

Plans by the government to allow for Mandarin to be taught in schools in South Africa solicited umbrage from the teachers’ union and set social media and comment sections ablaze with fears of a Chinese “imperialism” in Africa and a new “colonialism”. What lies behind this absurd view? My countrymen, who otherwise pretend to be

“The people in Africa are so simple,” he said

In a Ghana hotel I overheard a western-sounding white male utter the following to a listener on his phone: “The people in Africa are so simple, I can do whatever I like here. They never challenge me.” My body froze, and of course I said and did nothing. Not long ago I was in a

500 HUNDRED DAYS AND COUNTING, HAS #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS LOST ITS STING?

Prior to the 14th and 15th of April 2014, ‘Chibok’ was an obscure town in the North-eastern part of Nigeria, but terror magnified this town, placing it on a global map. Yesterday marked 500 Days since 276 girls were abducted by the terrorist sect Boko Haram from Chibok; Nigerians marked it, the world reported it.

Boko Haram’s Young Victims Process Trauma Through Heartbreaking Drawings

After Abeni, 16, escaped Boko Haram’s wrath in Nigeria, she hoped her increasing nightmare would come to an end. The terror group killed her parents and her neighbors, according to Doctors Without Borders. Abeni grabbed her little brother, nephew and four neighbors and eventually made her way to the Dar es Salaam refugee camp in

Photos Of Arrested Boko Haram Members & Weapons Recovered By The Nigerian Troops

Here are some pictures from the successful military operation carried out by he troops of 25 Task Force Brigade of the Nigerian Army today. The soldiers who carried out a search operation at Sandia, Kokakowa and Nyaleri villages suspected to be Boko Haram enclaves early today, discovered and destroyed another Improvised Explosives Device (IED) making

WHITE AID WORKER EXPOSES RACISM AT NGOS

Offering a rare glimpse in to what it is like working behind the ranks as a humanitarian worker, a White unnamed aid worker writes about her experience with White privilege and racism in her field. The aid worker starts by explaining what her initial hopes were when she first began her career: As a liberal progressive humanitarian

Women in Africa’s top brass: it’s not just about the numbers

Figures presented at a seminar on women, peace and security recently showed that several African countries are making good progress in transforming the military and including women, when compared to worldwide figures. But there still needs to be political will at the highest level to take issues of gender equality beyond mere representation. Increasingly, women

Too, too young: Child marriage in Africa

Child marriage is still a huge problem in many African countries, with young girls in particular losing their futures as they are forced to drop out of education, encounter health problems and often face abuse In 2010, Nigerian senator Ahmad Sani Yerima shocked rights groups by marrying a (reportedly) 13-year-old Egyptian bride – he was