THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Oct

27

2020

‘Perfect storm’: How Nigeria’s peaceful police protests turned violent

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM TEARS fill Ephraim Osinboyejo's eyes as he recalls the idealism that drove thousands of Nigerians like him into the streets to campaign against police brutality - and the night he saw young activists gunned down. The 39-year-old businessman says he returned to Nigeria last year after two decades abroad because he wanted to help his country. When nationwide demonstrations began on October 8, he volunteered to manage logistics at the main protest site in Lagos. But what began as a largely peaceful movement, driven by young, tech-savvy activists who used social media to grab global attention, turned into…

Oct

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump v Biden: a duel of contrasting masculinities

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

DAVID COLLINSON, Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organisation, Lancaster University JEFF HEARN, Professor of Sociology, University of Huddersfield THE second and last US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was another round in a duel between two very distinct forms of masculinity. An excellent moderator, Kristen Welker, combined with rule changes that reduced the candidates’ ability to interrupt each other, toned down the vitriol and helped create a calmer debate, with more room for discussion of policy. But this didn’t change the fundamental differences between the two men. Although both protagonists are white, old, affluent men, they embody…

Nov

25

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s slow and painful slide towards anarchy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOVIAL RANTAO THE group of armed robbers will go down either as the boldest criminals or history will record them as the dumbest of all criminals in South Africa. Jovial Rantao In broad daylight, they stormed an armoured car transporting right outside the Dobsonville Police Station. The thugs peppered the SBV truck with AK-47 bullets. The police officers responded kindly and a shoot out ensued. The police officers prevailed, the thugs took off, leaving one of them injured and in police custody. The fact that the armed robbers were not deterred by the physical presence of a police station -…

Nov

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump’s legacy in Africa and what to expect from Biden

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

DONALD Trump was propelled to the US presidency by promising to rewrite globalisation rules. This included restricting trade when it directly hurt the US, clamping down on immigration, and reducing commitments to the global order. His administration’s “America First” foreign policy also meant disengaging from its obligations to Africa, which he infamously referred to as “shit-hole countries”. FRANCIS OWUSU, Professor, Iowa State University PADRAIG CARMODY, Professor in Geography, Trinity College Dublin Historically, the US foreign policy approach to Africa could be classified as benign neglect. This was characterised by a general lack of interest in the continent in the pre–World…

Dec

05

2020

By The African Mirror

Why good relations between the African Union and the United Nations Security Council are important

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA OVER the last decade, the UN and the AU have deepened their relationship with partnership agreements on peace and security, development and capacity building. The most advanced cooperation between the two organisations is on peace and security as provided for in Chapter 8 of the UN Charter, and reaffirmed in many outcomes of the Security Council on cooperation between the United Nations and regional arrangements. We are witnessing in Africa a continent that is taking responsibility for the complex challenges to its peace, security and development. It is working with the United Nations and other international partners in…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

OPINION: Somali women’s inclusion in politics is long overdue

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

HODAN S. ISSE and SAGAL B.H. MUSA THERE is little doubt that women in Somalia have played a significant role in keeping the country afloat through decades of conflict and disaster. They are productive contributors to the economy through their petty trades and small businesses. They are often the sole providers for their families, peace builders in communities and caretakers of both the youth and the elderly. And yet while they have played a prominent role in revitalizing the economy and bringing a sense of stability in their communities, they have also paid a heavy price. Many have been forced…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

African women are leading community responses to COVID-19 crisis

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NADIA SITAS and ROSE WAMALWA WHETHER you’re an urban resident living in South Africa’s Cape Town or a Maasai tribesperson in rural Kenya, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted how women are negatively affected by both the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. But it has also revealed how women are leading many frontline activities - mobilising grassroots relief efforts, as well as carrying out their existing work - both paid and unpaid. While many of the challenges faced by women and other marginalised groups are not new, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated food insecurity, gender-based violence and precarious livelihood opportunities, imposed…

Nov

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Large Africa study makes important breakthrough in HIV prevention

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WOMEN make up more than half of the people living with HIV around the world. Young women between the ages of 10 and 24 are twice as likely to get HIV as young men in the same age group. In East and Southern Africa young women will acquire HIV on average five to seven years earlier than their male peers. SINEAD DELANY-MORETLWE, Associate Professor and Director: Research at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute I, University of the Witwatersrand Researchers have been working hard to find effective HIV prevention measures. Most notable is the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pill known…

Nov

29

2020

By The African Mirror

Mbeki and Obasanjo: case studies in the use of soft power in Africa’s interests

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE concept of soft power has been part of the parlance of international relations for three decades. Soft power actors use non-coercive and persuasive means to achieve their objectives. Attraction rather than force is their preferred language. OLUWASEUN TELLA, Senior Researcher, Institute for the Future of Knowledge, University of Johannesburg The application of soft power remains focused on states because of their primacy in international politics. But, the increasing influence of non-state actors dictates a need to review this approach. Non-state actors on the international stage include international organisations, NGOs, multinational corporations, terrorist groups and individuals. It is against this…

Dec

31

2020

By The African Mirror

Farewell “Mshini Wam”, an orator of note, with a razor sharp mind and a quick rejoinder

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MATHATHA TSEDU ON April 6, 1991, a guerrilla unit of the Azanian National Liberation Army (Azanla), the armed wing of the then exiled Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA), was in a house in Mahwelereng township in Limpopo when police and army forces surrounded them. A shootout ensued during which a number of cops were killed. One of the unit members was Thabang Mothlodisi, a Polokwane-based trade unionist who hailed from Maokeng township in Kroonstad, whilst the other was Ronald Mashapu Malatji. Motlhodisi, known as “Cobra”, came out of the surrounded house with a grenade without the pin. A policeman…