SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Mar

27

2024

Senegal election a welcome boost for coup-prone West Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR all the drama and the sometimes violent protests in the run-up to Senegal's presidential election, the former French colony looked set for a peaceful transition of power on Monday - a welcome boost for democracy in coup-prone West Africa. Sunday's vote, which was delayed from its original date of February 25, went off smoothly with supporters of opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye celebrating in the streets overnight as preliminary results put him firmly ahead. On Monday, both Faye's rival in the ruling coalition, Amadou Ba, and outgoing President Macky Sall congratulated Faye for winning the election before any official results from the electoral…

Mar

26

2024

By STEPHEN ONYEIWU

Nigeria’s fuel subsidy removal was too sudden: why a gradual approach would have been better

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

NIGERIA removed fuel subsidies entirely in May 2023. This came as a surprise because of the political risks associated with subsidy removal. Previous administrations were reluctant to jettison the subsidies. The subsidies had been in place since the 1970s, when the government sold petrol to Nigerians at a price below cost – though most consumers weren’t aware of this. The 1977 Price Control Act made it illegal for some products (including petrol) to be sold above the regulated price. The Olusegun Obasanjo regime introduced this law to cushion the effects of inflation, caused by a worldwide increase in energy prices.…

Mar

19

2024

By STEPHEN ONYEIWU

Inflation in Nigeria is still climbing while it has slowed globally: here’s why

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

JUST as Nigerians were gradually digging out from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were hit by high inflation. The Nigerian economy contracted by 6.1% at the peak of COVID-19 in the second quarter of 2020. Unemployment rate rose from 27% in the second quarter of 2020 to 33% in the fourth quarter of the same year. STEPHEN ONYEIWU, Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College The World Bank estimated that 11 million Nigerians were pushed into poverty during the pandemic, in addition to the 100 million (out of 200 million people in the country) who were already…

Mar

19

2024

By RILEY SPARKS, HAJAR HARB and OMAR NABIL ABDEL HAMID

Gaza in-depth: Why Israel wants to end UNRWA and what its closure would mean

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FACING allegations of violations of humanitarian neutrality, a funding freeze by major donors, and calls by Israeli officials for it to be dismantled, UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees is at a breaking point, according to its director-general Philippe Lazzarini. The crisis is threatening to collapse the largest aid agency in the Gaza Strip even as children have begun to die of malnutrition and dehydration due to Israel’s five-month bombardment and siege of the enclave. The immediate cause of UNRWA’s troubles stems from Israeli allegations in January that 12 of its around 13,000 staff members in Gaza were involved…

Mar

16

2024

By BRENDON J. CANNON

Somalia-Turkey maritime deal is a win for both countries, and not a power play for the Horn of Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

A recent defence deal between Somalia and Turkey has great significance for Somalia and the region’s security. The agreement, which covers both land and sea, aims to enhance defence cooperation between Turkey and Somalia. It includes the possibility of Turkey providing both training and equipment for a Somali navy. Its near-term impact should, however, not be exaggerated. BRENDON J. CANNON, Assistant Professor, Khalifa University Instead, it should be understood as a good-faith agreement signed between asymmetric powers whose interests overlap a little, at present. My research on the geopolitics and security agreements over the past few decades covering Turkey, Somalia…

Mar

13

2024

By SOPHIA LABADI

Colonial statues in Africa have been removed, returned and torn down again – why it’s such a complex history

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

In 2020, the murder of George Floyd in the US served as a catalyst for the global Black Lives Matter movement. It sparked widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism. It also ignited debates about historical symbols of oppression, such as statues of figures associated with racial injustices. SOPHIA LABADI, Professor of Heritage, University of Kent These debates presented colonial statues in Africa as having been contested and toppled for many years, ever since African states gained independence. Indeed, colonial statues were at the heart of the colonial world, symbolising its violence, white supremacy and the erasure of pre-colonial…

Mar

12

2024

By KATHLEEN SMITHERS

Happy smiling African children: why school tourism in Zimbabwe shouldn’t be encouraged

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

A large, air-conditioned bus draws up outside a school. Tourists, most from Europe and the US, disembark, cameras at the ready. Some have brought gifts: packages of pens and pencils. They distribute these to the children, who spontaneously begin singing and dancing. KATHLEEN SMITHERS, Lecturer, Charles Sturt University This scene and others like it play out in schools around the world. It’s called school tourism. It’s similar to orphanage tourism and so-called “slum” tourism, in which tourists visit orphanages or “slums” in poor countries to witness poverty and suffering. These sorts of tourism come with several ethical problems: photography of…

Mar

08

2024

By IFESINACHI OKAFOR-YARWOOD

West Africa’s coast was a haven for piracy and illegal fishing – how technology is changing the picture

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE Gulf of Guinea – a coastal region that stretches from Senegal to Angola – is endowed with vast reserves of hydrocarbon, mineral and fisheries resources. It is also an important route for international commerce, making it critical to the development of countries in the region. IFESINACHI OKAFOR-YARWOOD, Lecturer, University of St Andrews For a long time, however, countries in the Gulf of Guinea haven’t properly monitored what’s happening in their waters. This has allowed security threats at sea to flourish. The threats include illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, drug trafficking, piracy and armed robbery, and toxic waste dumping. For…

Mar

06

2024

By UELI STAEGER and BABATUNDE FAGBAYIBO

The African Union is weak because its members want it that way – experts call for action on its powers

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS, EDITORS CHOICE

THE African Union (AU) comes in for a lot of criticism. Most recently this is from within its own ranks. The AU Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, set out his frustrations after an AU summit in February 2024. The commission is the executive organ which runs the AU’s daily activities. Mahamat accused member states of getting in the way of the commission doing its work, and failing to match rhetoric with action: Over the last three years, 2021, 2022 and 2023, 93% of African Union decisions have not been implemented. We think many of the criticisms of the AU are…

Mar

02

2024

By FEDERICO DONELLI

Red Sea politics: why Turkey is helping Somalia defend its waters

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOMALIA and Turkey recently announced that they would expand the terms of a defence agreement first signed on 8 February 2024 to include the maritime sector. This came as tensions rose between Somalia and landlocked Ethiopia. Ethiopia is seeking access to the Red Sea through Somaliland, a breakaway state of Somalia. Federico Donelli, an international relations professor whose research covers Red Sea security and politics, puts this defence agreement into context. FEDERICO DONELLI, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Trieste What’s the scope of the relationship between Turkey and Somalia? Turkey’s entry into Somalia in 2011 started out as…