SPECIAL FEATURES - The African Mirror

Jul

30

2025

Armed banditry is becoming a crisis in Nigeria: why fixing the police is key

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ARMED banditry in Nigeria has escalated into a full-blown security crisis, particularly in the north-west and north-central regions. What began as sporadic attacks has now morphed into coordinated campaigns of terror affecting entire communities. In March 2022, bandits attacked an Abuja-bound train with over 900 passengers, killing several and abducting an unknown number. Earlier, in January 2022, around 200 people were killed and 10,000 displaced in Zamfara after over 300 gunmen on motorcycles stormed eight villages, shooting indiscriminately and burning homes. Between 2023 and May 2025, at least 10,217 people were killed by armed groups, including bandits, in northern Nigeria.…

Jul

28

2025

By LEILA DEMAREST and LINE KUPPENS

Young Nigerians learn about democracy at school: how it’s shaping future voters

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

DEMOCRATIC consolidation is a continuing struggle, in Africa as elsewhere. The turn to democracy gained momentum in Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s but has petered out since. Can new generations turn the tide? The need to prepare young people to become democratically minded is well established. In Western societies, school-based civic education has been considered the means to do it since as early as the 1960s. The assumption is that better knowledge about the democratic functioning of the state promotes stronger democratic values and norms. It is also thought to increase trust in institutions and a willingness…

Jul

26

2025

By MALIK SAMUEL

When rebels rule: ISWAP’s formula for winning support in Nigeria’s northeast

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Malik Samuel IN Nigeria’s northeast, the jihadist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is the Islamic State Central's most successful regional affiliate, combining a ruthless insurgency with an elaborate governance and tax system that has enabled it to withstand sustained military pressure. While modelled on the administrative system of ISIS-central, based in Syria and Iraq, ISWAP has adapted the framework to the Lake Chad Basin. At the heart of its governance model is a network of formal departments known as dawawin – essentially ministries – tasked with overseeing military operations,…

Jul

22

2025

By FISAYO AJALA

Boko Haram conflict: Nigeria’s army is failing the widows of dead soldiers

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

NIGERIAN soldiers’ widows have been reported as lacking support from the army, and even experiencing sexual harassment while claiming their late husbands’ benefits. Their concerns echo the findings of our recent study as military sociologists. The research focused on Nigerian widows who lost their husbands in the Boko Haram conflict, and the extent to which the Nigerian Army fulfilled its responsibilities towards them. Boko Haram is officially known as Jamaat Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), meaning “people committed to the propagation of the Prophet’s teachings and jihad”. The Islamic State’s West African Province is its splinter group. They are Islamist…

Jul

18

2025

By PHILIPP KASTNER

4 things every peace agreement needs – and how the DRC-Rwanda deal measures up

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda concluded a peace treaty in June 2025, aimed at ending a decades-long war in eastern DRC. The United Nations welcomed the agreement as “a significant step towards de-escalation, peace and stability” in the region. I have analysed several different peace negotiations and agreements. It’s important to distinguish between what’s needed to get warring parties to the table and what’s eventually agreed on. In this article, I examine whether the DRC-Rwanda deal has the four essential components that usually signal that an agreement will hold. Two broad points about…

Jul

17

2025

By LEILA DEMAREST and ARNIM LANGER

Lagos is young and diverse, so what shapes ethnic and religious prejudice among teens? Our study tried to find out

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

LAGOS State, with an estimated population of 20 million, is Africa’s largest metropolis. Home to Nigeria’s commercial capital, it is a magnet for internal migration, drawing in a mix of the country’s ethnic groups. Nigeria is estimated to have between 150 and 500 distinct ethnic groups, many of which are represented in Lagos. The original inhabitants of Lagos were Yoruba. As the colonial capital, the city experienced early migration from the Igbo group from the southeast. The Hausa-Fulani, from the north, are another important group to have been drawn to Lagos. More recent migration to the city has also been…

Jul

16

2025

By TAIBAT LAWANSON

Nigeria’s Maroko eviction remembered: a brutal legacy lives on

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THIRTY-FIVE years ago in mid-July, bulldozers demolished the homes, hopes and aspirations of over 300,000 people in the low-income community of Maroko, in Lagos, Nigeria. This remains Nigeria’s biggest forced eviction to date – the complete annihilation of about 30 neighbourhoods at one time. The evictions were framed as an attempt to improve people’s living conditions and minimise exposure to flooding. But hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. A new film, Displaced – A City’s Scars, documents how communities in Lagos have suffered a century of evictions, which continue today through a new wave of gentrification. https://www.youtube.com/embed/p5geHFBI4_4 The…

Jul

14

2025

By MAURICE HUTTON

Alcohol and colonialism: the curious story of the Bulawayo beer gardens

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

KONTUTHU Ziyathunqa – Smoke Rising – was what they used to call Bulawayo when the city was the industrial powerhouse of Zimbabwe. Now, many of its factories lie dormant or derelict. The daily torrent of workers flowing eastward at dawn and back out to the high-density western suburbs at dusk has diminished to a trickle. But there is an intriguing industrial-era institution that lives on in most of the older western suburbs (formerly called townships). It is the municipal beer hall or beer garden, built in the colonial days for the racially segregated African worker communities. There are dozens of…

Jul

09

2025

By The African Mirror

New premium SUV brand LEPAS confirms South African launch for 2026

MOTORING NEWS

THE South African automotive landscape is set for another significant addition as LEPAS, the premium SUV brand that made its global debut in April 2025, confirms its local market entry for 2026. The brand promises to bring a fresh interpretation of luxury mobility to style-conscious South African drivers. LEPAS positions itself as more than just another vehicle manufacturer, targeting younger, design-aware consumers who view their choice of transport as an extension of their personal identity. The brand's philosophy centres on design-led thinking combined with cutting-edge technology, creating vehicles that embody individuality, contemporary luxury, and purposeful engineering. Strategic Leadership Appointment Chery…

Jul

09

2025

By The African Mirror

From School Runs to Spin Classes: How Rachel Kolisi found her perfect driving companion

MOTORING

MOTORING CORRESPONDENT IT'S 6:30 AM, and Rachel Kolisi is already behind the wheel. The philanthropist, fitness enthusiast, and mother of two is navigating the familiar morning dance of school drop-offs, her day stretching ahead with workout sessions, business meetings, and the endless logistics of family life. But there's something different about her daily drives now – a sense of ease that comes from having the right partner for the journey. "I'm obsessed," Rachel laughs, patting the dashboard of her Jetour X70 Plus. "It's got everything you need: luxury, space and comfort. And the standout features make every day easier." As…