AFRICA

To those who keep on deriding Pan-Africanism as a hopeless dream, Fẹ̀mi Akọmọlàfẹ́, book author and political analyst, writing from Accra, Ghana, makes the case for a united continent that is stronger on the world stage —– The future, they say, belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Stop confusing Pan-Africanism with African-Romanticism. Pan-Africanism is not …

“We will be allowing travel into and out of South Africa for business, leisure and other travel with effect from 1 October 2020,” President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday (16 September) in a national address on developments in the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is time to move to what we will call our new normal,” Ramaphosa said. …

“The level of corruption that has become an integral part of multiparty democracy has created a general climate of stress and tension that may destabilise some areas in our region. It is unfortunate that the world is being forced into multiparty democracy with corruption and violence rather than other forms of democratic practices with none or minimal corruption. Unfortunately, the West appears to favour corruptible political tendencies in order to continue to dominate our security and economy”

NJ Ayuk, founder of one of Africa’s most successful law chambers, supports the Senegalese leader's call on the G20 to help African countries balance their obligations to international creditors with their obligations to their own citizens in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. He explains why debt relief is crucial to Africa's recovery from the economic fallout of the global health crisis

The Economic Community of West African States has postponed the planned launch of its single currency, the Eco. The body agreed to maintain a gradual approach for the launching of the currency. ECOWAS explained that a new date for the launch would be announced later. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 57th Summit of …

Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been elected Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at the 57th Summit held in Niamey, Niger, on Monday, 7 September 2020. The President, who was elected unanimously by his peers, takes over the mantle of leadership from the President Mahamadou …

On 3 September 2020, the Nigerian government specified the relevant coronavirus containment protocols for the resumption of international commercial flights at the Lagos and Abuja airports on 5 September 2020. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, also released the list of foreign airlines allowed to fly in and out of Nigeria while speaking at the bi-weekly briefing of the Presidential …

Abdallah Baikie argues in this opinion piece why the EU should stop looking away as Nigeria continues to be plagued by relentless murderous violence and acts of terror, setting a potentially comparable scenario to the Rwandan genocide in the horizon ——- As the European Union prepares for the 6th African Union-European Union summit (AU-EU Summit), set to take place in …

Ghana’s Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has sent a six-page response to Nigeria over accusation of hostilities to Nigeria and harassment of Nigerians in Ghana. Nigeria, through its Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, had last Friday accused Ghana of hostility towards its citizens in Ghana and he also listed acts committed by the Ghanaian authorities against Nigerian interests in the …

Nigeria has criticised what it calls the “incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the progressive acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities”. “The Nigerian Government is deeply concerned by the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the progressive acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities, and will no longer tolerate such,” Nigeria’s …

The Nigerian civil aviation authorities have postponed the resumption of international flights to 5 September. The earlier date for the restart of international operations at the country’s airports had been 29 August. Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Shuaibu Nuhu, revealed the news during a Presidential Task Force COVID-19 briefing in Abuja on Thursday. He said while …

No matter how we throw it around, the coup in Mali represents a monumental setback to us as a people. If care is not taken, the initial euphoria might easily turn into a poisoned chalice. Military saviours have a long history of turning into vicious albatrosses!

A Nigerian international media entrepreneur has described as unfair the treatment being meted out to Nigerian retail traders in Ghana. In a press statement issued on Wednesday (19 August), Chief Dele Momodu, Chairman of Ovation Media Group, said the forced closure of some shops owned by Nigerians in Accra violates the spirit of pan-Africanism. “I note with sadness the viral …

The African Union has condemned the military take-over of power in Mali. Rebel soldiers arrested Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse on Tuesday afternoon following weeks of political tension in the country. A statement issued by the body on Tuesday said, “The President of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemns the arrest of …

Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara (78) has finally confirmed he’ll seek a third term in office in October. Within days of this, Guinea’s ruling party asked President Alpha Condé (82) to seek a third term. The actions signal that Africa is a long way from burying the ugly era of presidents for life. The period, which followed immediately after independence and …

President Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday, 17th August 2020 commissioned and handed over the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra. This move is a fulfilment of Ghana’s obligation to provide an office as the Headquarters for the AfCFTA Secretariat and an official residence for the Secretary-General. Delivering a speech at the …

Indigenes of Abia State living outside Nigeria gathered for the Abia State Diaspora Dialogue 2020 via a video conference on Saturday (15 August) to deliberate on how they could better contribute to the development of the state. The virtual meeting, convened by the Office of the Special Adviser to Governor, Abia State, on Diaspora Matters, featured speakers from around the …

  Jose Filomeno dos Santos, the son of Angola’s former president, was on Friday (14 August) sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty on corruption charges, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported. Dos Santos, 42, was charged to court in December over allegations he tried to embezzle up to $1.5 billion (1.3 billion euros) from the country’s sovereign …

The offer of the German government to pay €10 million to Namibia as compensation for the mass murder of its people more than a century ago has been rejected. Namibian President Hage Geingob on Tuesday (11 August) turned down the German financial offer to compensate for the killing of tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people by German colonial …

Over the next 10 years, an additional 10.8 million teachers will be needed. Ensuring high-quality teachers are in classrooms is one of the most strategic investments a country can make to enable all students to develop the skills they will need for work and as citizens of a global world.