THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Oct

04

2025

A fresh look at African women on the move

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MORE African women are crossing borders to drive trade, expand education, and strengthen cultural exchange, challenging the decades-old framing of migration as desperate journeys through deserts or perilous boat rides in search of elusive opportunities abroad. For years, women have largely been portrayed as vulnerable or displaced. But a fresh perspective from African Women in Media (AWiM), a pan-African network of journalists founded by Nigerian media scholar, captured through 25 investigative reports, is shifting the narrative to show how women’s mobility is reshaping economies and enriching communities across the continent. The reports, commissioned under the ‘Move Africa’ project in partnership…

Oct

02

2025

By JACKSON OKATA

It is time to trim US power at UN Security Council, grant Africa permanent seat

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NEARLY eight decades after its creation, calls for reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seem more realistic and timely. At this year’s 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), leaders from the Global South, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe renewed their demands for Africa’s permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), arguing that the Council’s outdated structure marginalises a continent central to today’s global challenges. This exclusion of Africa from the UN’s top decision-making body is not just an oversight but structural racism baked into global governance. Since 1945, the UNSC power-sharing model has…

Oct

01

2025

By WALE FATADE

Nigeria at 65: a long road to economic freedom

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NIGERIA turns 65 on 1 October 2025, having obtained independence from Britain on 1 October 1960. After military coups and an annulled election of 12 June 1993, which led to military rule, the current democratic journey commenced on 29 May 1999. The Bola Ahmed Tinubu government, which assumed office on 29 May 2023, identified some key areas as its focus. These are economic growth, national security, food security, and sustainable development. Others are infrastructure growth, education, health and social investment, industrialisation and improved governance. The economic reforms have been underpinned by the removal of the fuel subsidy and the unification…

Sep

30

2025

By STEVEN C. ROACH

South Sudan is unstable: how a weak state benefits the ruling elite

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SALVA Kiir, the president of South Sudan, met with then US president Barack Obama at the White House in 2011 to discuss the future of the newly independent state. Officials seated at the table were eager to hear about the vision for the political stability of the new country. But when Obama asked Kiir about his plan, Kiir turned to his chief advisor for an answer. In my view, Kiir has never – then, or since – had a vision or plan to unify the country. This view is informed by my decades of research on the country and on-the-ground…

Sep

27

2025

By LEAH MWAINYEKULE

Tanzania’s social media clampdown and the elections – what’s at risk

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOCIAL media platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and X have transformed political dialogue and activism in Tanzania. The democratisation of political expression has especially empowered young voters and activists to challenge government actions and champion causes such as human rights, the release of political prisoners, and electoral reforms. This is significant in a country politically dominated by one ruling party since its independence in 1961. The government has responded by frequently clamping down on social media through arrests, mass content removals and platform-specific shutdowns. This is in addition to direct controls over media outlets. Media and communication scholar Leah Mwainyekule…

Sep

26

2025

By DAVID E KIWUWA

Paul Biya at 92: will defections weaken his grip on absolute power in Cameroon?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CAMEROONIANS go to the polls in October 2025 in what some people hoped might be a break from the country’s troubled recent past. They thought that President Paul Biya (92) might stand aside to allow a transition. Three years ago, I was one of those who expressed optimism about the 2025 poll. But I was wrong. Biya is set to run yet again for an 8th term. He is already one of Africa’s longest ruling presidents, behind only Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Nguema. Biya is on the cusp of achieving a lifetime presidency since taking office in 1982. In July 2025,…

Sep

23

2025

By TEREFE GEBREYESUS

Ethiopia’s two bids at democracy have failed: what it will take to succeed

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ETHIOPIA has attempted to transition to democracy twice. First, in 1991, a new government overthrew a dictatorial military regime. Second, in 2018, when Abiy Ahmed took over as prime minister after protests against a repressive government. In both attempts, there was optimism and excitement. But both failed. Can Ethiopia still get it right? In a recent article, I tried to answer this question. I examined four preconditions that scholars of democratic transition identify. These are: economic growth over a considerable period political elites committed to tolerance, compromise and respect for democratic rules and practices independent political institutions International organisations, such…

Sep

20

2025

By JANET REMMINGTON

Travel as activism: 6 stories of Black women who refused to ‘stay put’ in apartheid South Africa

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FOR black people living in South Africa during apartheid, simply moving around the country was a fraught activity, let alone crossing its borders. This was especially the case for black women, who were “rock bottom of the racial pile”, as South African writer Lauretta Ngcobo expressed it. Coming to power in 1948 and ruling for over 40 years before democracy in 1994, the white-minority apartheid government took various race-based policies to extremes. An emphasis was on trying to control movement, keeping the black majority “in their place”. From the 1950s, the state extended pass laws, targeting black women. It also…

Sep

19

2025

By IDRIS MOHAMMED

Why bandit amnesties are failing in Nigeria’s northwest

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NIGERIANS were glued to their screens when more than 270 schoolgirls kidnapped by bandits from their dormitory in Jangebe, Zamfara State, were released and paraded before the cameras. Government officials rushed to claim victory, presenting the girls’ return as proof that dialogue with so-called “repentant bandits” could restore peace. Yet the truth, whispered by community members who met the girls at dawn in Gusau, the state capital, was far more sobering. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Idris Mohammed The children were released – not because the gunmen planned to lay down their weapons – but because…

Sep

18

2025

By DINA WAHBA and FRANZISCA ZANKER

Refugee protection in Egypt: what’s behind the return train to Sudan

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A special train left the Egyptian capital of Cairo for Aswan, a town close to the border with southern neighbour Sudan, in July 2025. The train, publicised by the Egyptian government as shiny, air-conditioned and free of charge, runs a weekly service. It is transporting Sudanese refugees who are willing to go back home. Sudan, however, has been in the midst of civil war since April 2023. The train arrives in Aswan after around 12 hours. Travellers then continue via bus or ferry into Sudan. Little is known about what happens when travellers arrive in the country. As of mid-2025,…