AFRICA

Nigeria is currently undergoing a serious crisis as nomadic Fulani pastoralists seek to establish permanent settlements all over the country by violently dispossessing the original inhabitants of their land through ethnic cleansing. Since 2014, thousands of rural dwellers, especially farmers and their families, have been killed by the rampaging herdsmen, while hundreds of thousands have been driven off their land. …

Colonialism Reparation, a Berlin-based organization, has welcomed the recent UN decision on the continued British occupation of the Chagos Archipelago, a territory that belongs to the African nation of Mauritius. The United Nations General Assembly recently confirmed that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius in 1968 was not lawfully completed, giving the United Kingdom six months to withdraw its colonial …

The Lagos State Government has promised to bring Nigerians in Diaspora from around the world to the state to support capacity in education and youth development and empowerment. This was stated by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA), to the Governor of Lagos State on Diaspora Affairs, Mr Jermaine Sanwo-Olu, while declaring open a 2-day teachers training programme for teachers in …

Nigerian government praises its citizens living in the diaspora for the money they regularly send home, which in 2018 amounted to US$25 billion. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, however, would like Nigerians abroad to still do more as the Secretary to the Federal Government throws new challenges at them at the National Diaspora Day in Abuja. The Secretary to …

The Federal Government has set aside July 25 of every year as National Diaspora Day in recognition of the contributions of Nigerians living outside the country towards homeland development. This was disclosed in Abuja on Tuesday by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM). The Media Coordinator of the Commission, Abdul-rahman Balogun, in a statement, explained that NIDCOM was hosting the …

According to a newly-published survey by Transparency International, most Africans think corruption is getting worse in their countries. The Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – Africa, released by the Berlin-based anti-corruption organisation, reveals that 53 per cent of citizens surveyed in 35 African countries think corruption is getting worse while 23 per cent say the problem is getting better. More than …

As I write this article, 44 migrants, mostly Africans, who were rescued in the Mediterranean by the humanitarian organisation Sea Eye off the Libyan coast on Monday, are desperately looking for where to be allowed to disembark in Europe. The migrants’ dilemma follows the Sea-Watch 3 controversy in June, when the rescue boat forcibly docked in the Italian port of …

Six members of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya’s security staff have been convicted by Swiss judges investigating a reported attack on a journalist in Geneva on 26 June. The arrests took place last Tuesday, according to a statement by canton Geneva’s justice department. Four of the guards were given a four-month suspended prison sentence, and two were given a three-month suspended …

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has been privately visiting Switzerland for a long time. The Hotel InterContinental in Geneva with its swimming pool and view of Mont Blanc is the residence of choice for the Cameroonian presidential couple. A report by the Wall Street Journal in November 2018 said that since Biya became head of state in 1982 the hotel is …

Brain drain is a major challenge facing the Nigerian health system, leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of doctors in the country. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Nigeria is one of the three leading African sources of foreign-born physicians. Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi, Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, University of Ibadan, explains why doctors are …

Yohannes Gedamu, scholar and university teacher, explains how Ethiopia’s federal system is responsible for the political turmoil in the country despite Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s efforts to liberalise the democratic space. For almost three decades Ethiopia’s federal structure – enshrined in the country’s 1994 constitution – has been defended by the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front. It’s …

Participants from different walks of life gathered for two days (24-25 May) in the western German city of Dortmund to commemorate the 2019 Africa Day. The Day marks the anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) on 25 May 1963. The event, celebrated in the city by AfricanTide Union for the ninth year, brought …

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has won South Africa’s parliamentary elections with 57.5 percent of the vote, the electoral commission has announced. The ANC finished ahead of the Democratic Alliance (DA) on 21% and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 11%. The election result, which gives the ANC 230 seats in the 400-member parliament, means that President Cyril …

The Nigerian Senate has confirmed the appointment of Abike Dabiri-Erewa as the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian citizens in Diaspora Commission. The letter seeking confirmation of her appointment was sent to the Senate in November 2018. Ms Dabiri-Erewa, currently the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, has now become the first head of the Commission. …

A 50-year-old German, Robert Mionskowski, has done what many would hold for a crazy adventure. He rode his BMW motorbike from the German city of Hannover to Accra – a daredevil mission that took him three weeks. Mionskowski undertook the unusual trip to visit his son who is volunteering in Volta Region’s Vakpo. “Riding a motorbike gives me a sense …

Introduction The 2nd Nigerian Global Diaspora Conference held at the Royal Event Centre, Almere, Netherlands, from Thursday 24 to Saturday 27 April 2019 under the theme “Mobilizing Diaspora Human Capital & Providing Policy Framework for a United Homeland Engagement-Post Diaspora Commission”. The event, a follow-up to the Nigerian Diaspora Global Development Conference held in London in July 2018, sought to …

The African Union (AU) will unveil a unique African passport in February, lifting travel barriers and fulfilling an important part of the organization’s cherished pan-African ambitions – free movement of its peoples. AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat is confident that the African passport move will succeed. He said that details about implementation will be announced at the 32nd summit …

The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in Gambia started hearing testimonies from witnesses on Monday, as it set about investigating rights violations committed by the regime of Yahya Jammeh. Modelled on South Africa’s investigation into its apartheid era, the commission will hold hearings into Jammeh’s 22-year era of oppression which ended in 2016 after he was forced from power. …

The Rwandan government has begun enforcing a ban on cosmetics products used for lightening or “bleaching” skin. The creams are being removed from shelves across the country as the government cracks down on the sale of the harmful cosmetic product. Many observers however fear that the ban in Rwanda may encourage women to buy unregulated products which could put their …

Nigeria will vote on 16 February in the country’s fifth presidential election since the restoration of democracy in 1999. Olalekan Waheed Adigun, the author of the fast-selling book Witnessing The Change, analyses the factors that will decide the crucial election, mainly a battle between  incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling APC and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the main …