Sudanese Military Leaders Seize Power, Dissolve Transitional Government

The coup in Sudan shows that the military members of the transitional government were never truly committed to implementing democracy in the manner sought by protesters who forced Omar al-Bashir from power in 2019. By Michelle Gavin, Guest columnist and blogger Monday’s coup in Sudan represents an attempt by forces who were never interested reform or democracy to derail the country’s transition and protect their own interests at the expense of the rest of the country....

Addressing Mental Health becomes Relevant as Suicide Rate Soars

Last week, a 23-year-old physiology student, Chidiume Kenneth Ekene, committed suicide right in the corner of his hostel at Uli, Anambra State. Usually, common suicidal methods prevalent amongst victims are poisoning, suffocation, jumping into the lagoon (drowning), and sometimes, firearms, but Chidiume’s case was through self-immolation (deliberately setting oneself on fire). It was hard to imagine the torture and gradual melting of his body in the presence of breath. The news was shocking at first,...

End SARS Protest One Anniversary: Nigeria and the Consciousness

“In a way, Nigeria is fascist in disposition considering that the government posturing often suggests that whatever the government does on behalf of the state is best for the people” —Ebuka Onyekwelu   One year after the end SARS campaign which started in Ikeja Lagos as a protest against police brutality in Nigeria, the level of citizens’ awareness remarkably appears to be on a steady increase. There are now efforts by some people to look...

Cameroon Presidential Succession Looms Large in Solving Country’s Political Crises

The eventual succession to Paul Biya, Cameroon’s president since 1982, will likely prove a critical moment for Cameroon and its overlapping political and security crises.   By Michelle Gavin, Guest columnist and blogger In Cameroon, an incident last week in which a gendarme shot and killed a young child in Buea—a regional capital that has been the site of clashes between anglophone separatists and federal government forces—is the most recent outrage to make international headlines. Yet every day,...

Swazi Students Resist Monarchy to Continue the Fight for Democracy

By Michelle Gavin, Guest columnist and blogger The world should not look away from Swazis’ continuing fight for democracy. For a brief moment over the summer, eSwatini was the subject of international headlines when security forces killed pro-democracy demonstrators in one of the world’s last absolute monarchies. The Southern African Development Community dispatched a high-level fact-finding mission to the country, which foundered when Swazi officials resisted regional efforts to consult with voices outside of government and did not...

OPINION: How Anambra Governorship Electoral Victory is Determined by Elites

In all, these elites have enormous sums of money which they are willing to deploy on Election Day to ensure that their preferred candidate wins in their locality. Anambra elections have always been elections in which stakeholders’ influence practically decide who wins. Anambra elites explicitly and subtly influence the choice of voters and their loyalty is not tied to any political party. Admittedly, their influence is not all required to win an election because in...

Is It A Waste of Time to Explain Oneself?: Helen Paul’s Black Eye Attributed to Domestic Violence

In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (either in the ascending or descending order), the third tier of the pyramid model is Belongingness and Love Needs/Desires. Recently, a popular entertainer, Helen Paul, made an Instagram post narrating her ordeal which led to her usage of sunglasses even while taking pictures. She mentioned that some people who were oblivious of the true situation assumed she was being proud. @itshelenpaul: “Sometime ago, I was involved in a car accident in Abuja. I suffered a concussion...

Tiwa Savage Leaked Sex Video: Dealing with Blackmailers

To blame a victim of sextortion instead of dealing with the sextortionist is a clear sign of misplacement of priority. Sextortion is the practice of extorting money or sexual favours from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity. It can also be called blackmail. Perpetrators of this act are called sextortionist. We have witnessed blackmailers leak the videos of victims upon their refusal to comply with their (the blackmailer’s) exploitative demands. To...

Nobel Peace Prize for Journalists Serves As Reminder that Freedom of the Press is Under Threat From Strongmen and Social Media

By Dr. Kathy Kiely Thirty-two years ago next month, I was in Germany reporting on the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event then heralded as a triumph of Western democratic liberalism and even “the end of history.” But democracy isn’t doing so well across the globe now. Nothing underscores how far we have come from that moment of irrational exuberance than the powerful warning the Nobel Prize Committee felt compelled to issue on Oct....

OPINION: What is Actually Wrong with Nigeria and Nigerians: Organised Madness?

By Dr. Okey (Oduma) Chidolue, Columnist We endlessly complain about our government (Local, State & Federal) but we cannot individually or collectively carry out a very simple task like driving through an intersection. “What exactly is wrong with us?” This is the question I have continued to ask. We endlessly complain about our government (Local, State & Federal) but we cannot individually or collectively carry out a very simple task like driving through an intersection....

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