By Ejiroghene Barrett As the defence chiefs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member-states gather in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, to re-evaluate their strategies for a military intervention in Niger, citizens of the country continue to protest against any threat of such action, demanding that the coup d’état provides a genuine opportunity…
By Ejiroghene Barrett After a number of coup d’etats in the middle of an apparent “democratic rebirth”, West Africa seems to have set the stage for a re-emergence of a scourge many believed had been expunged from the region’s political script. These interventions have tipped the political balance in several states and pose a serious…
Niger, a landlocked country in the dry Sahel region of Africa, struggles to feed its 25 million people. It currently ranks 115th out of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index, and the number of people not getting enough to eat has increased from about 13% of the population in 2014 to 20% in 2022. Things could deteriorate even further as…
Since the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria and the emergence of Islamist-Salafist groups in northern Mali in 2013, the Sahel has increasingly been caught in the maelstrom of Islamist terrorism. The region is now described as the new global epicentre of violent extremism. The population is suffering immensely, and in some areas more than 2 million people have been displaced. Agriculture and…
Bola Ahmed Tinubu has come out victorious in the Nigeria’s highly disputed presidential election. Who is this veteran political and why is he widely regarded as a kingmaker and “godfather”? Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign slogan was “emi lo kan” in his native Yoruba — “It’s my turn.” On March 1 he emerged victorious in the race to lead…
In the Yoruba monarchical system, a kingmaker can never become king. Any kingmaker who attempts to become a king risks committing suicide. By tradition, kingmakers come from a lineage that does not produce kings just as princes who can become kings can never be kingmakers. The essence of this demarcation in responsibilities and functions is…
