Africa and the First U.S. Presidential Debate

AfricaColumnsNewsUnited StatesAfrica and the First U.S. Presidential Debate

PilotnewsOctober 2, 2020

Mainstream U.S. media is characterizing the September 29 debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden as a disaster. The moderator was never able to establish control. President Trump, especially, constantly interrupted former Vice President Biden. Rather than a discussion about policy and ideas, the debate was a rant or a temper tantrum. In Africa, the debate will hardly burnish the image of democracy or the United States. However, the October 2 news that President Trump and the...

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How to Build Better Militaries in Africa: Lessons from Niger

ColumnsMilitaryNewsWest AfricaHow to Build Better Militaries in Africa: Lessons from Niger

PilotnewsOctober 1, 2020

In August, jihadists in Niger killed six French aid workers and two Nigeriens just outside of the capital, Niamey. Terrorist attacks have increased by 250 percent over the last two years in Africa’s Sahel region, according to the State Department. To help counter the threat of terrorism and build the capacity of African militaries, the U.S. government spends over $1.5 billion a year on security assistance to the African continent. Does this support work? Reliable security cooperation and assistance data are...

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Nigeria at 60: to be or Not to be?

ColumnsNigeriaOpinionPoliticsNigeria at 60: to be or Not to be?

PilotnewsOctober 1, 2020

Aside from the ruling class in the north, south, west, and east of the country, nobody else is benefitting from the country. ―Ebuka Onyekwelu Sixty years is too long, but apparently, too short a time within which Nigeria can decide the identity it wants to take on. For six decades after Nigeria’s independence, basic questions of nationhood remain unanswered; Nigeria is yet to resolve issues surrounding its identity. Most recently, the recurrent question remains if...

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Sharia Punishments Embarrass Nigeria

ColumnsLaw & JusticeNigeriaOpinionSharia Punishments Embarrass Nigeria

PilotnewsOctober 1, 2020

Inhumane sharia punishments, including flogging, amputations, and stoning, have long embarrassed the federal government of Nigeria. That is happening now, with the 120-month prison sentence handed down by a Kano sharia court to a thirteen-year-old boy, Omar Farouq, and the death sentence handed down by the same court, again for blasphemy, on a twenty-two-year-old musician, Yahaya Sharif, for a song he shared on social media. A third, Mubarak Bala, a self-proclaimed atheist, has disappeared in police custody....

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France Insists on Mali’s Return to Civilian Rule

AfricaColumnsEuropeForeign PolicyFrance Insists on Mali’s Return to Civilian Rule

PilotnewsSeptember 26, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a September 22 UN General Assembly (UNGA) speech, made continued French military involvement contingent upon Mali’s restoration of civilian rule. He was blunt: “They (the junta) must put Mali on the irreversible path of returning to civilian power and organize rapid elections.” And, “France […] can only remain engaged on this condition.” As he has in the past, Macron was also clear that France has a low tolerance level for popular demonstrations against...

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The Numbers Behind America’s 180 on Athlete Activism

ColumnsPoliticsSportsUnited StatesThe Numbers Behind America’s 180 on Athlete Activism

PilotnewsSeptember 26, 2020

For 50 dormant years – roughly, the period between Muhammad Ali’s heyday and the Miami Heat donning hoodies after Trayvon Martin’s murder – athletes, as a general rule, steered clear of politics. Teams and leagues liked it that way, as did sponsors. Why take a stand if it might cost you a customer? Fans seemed to like it that way, too. In a national survey conducted in 2016, after Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem to...

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Art Protests Shine Spotlight on Post-Colonial Restitution Question

AfricaArts & CultureColumnsArt Protests Shine Spotlight on Post-Colonial Restitution Question

PilotnewsSeptember 26, 2020

Mwazulu Diyabanza, a Congolese-origin activist in France, first attracted social media attention by seeming to steal an artifact from the Quai Branly Museum in Paris to protest slavery, colonialism and the alleged French theft of Africa’s cultural patrimony. The attempted theft was carefully staged for live streaming. The museum authorities stopped the theft. In July, he repeated his protest at a museum in Marseilles. It was also live-streamed. Diyabanza is now back in the news because he, along...

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What Nigerian Voters Must Learn from Edo Voters

ColumnsOpinionPoliticsWhat Nigerian Voters Must Learn from Edo Voters

PilotnewsSeptember 25, 2020

It could have been minority’s win because of the absence of majority participation. ―Ebuka Onyekwelu The just-concluded governorship election in Edo state was a clash of powerful political forces and no doubt part of the buildup to the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. But most importantly, the victory in that election belongs to the people of Edo. The less than six hundred thousand Edo voters, who matched their words with action, went out to cast...

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A language Generation Program’s Ability to Write Articles, Produce Code and Compose Poetry Has Wowed Scientists

ColumnsNewsScience & TechnologyA language Generation Program’s Ability to Write Articles, Produce Code and Compose Poetry Has Wowed Scientists

PilotnewsSeptember 24, 2020

Seven years ago, my student and I at Penn State built a bot to write a Wikipedia article on Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s play “Chitra.” First, it culled information about “Chitra” from the internet. Then it looked at existing Wikipedia entries to learn the structure for a standard Wikipedia article. Finally, it summarized the information it had retrieved from the internet to write and publish the first version of the entry. However, our bot...

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How and When Will We Know that a COVID-19 Vaccine is Safe and Effective?

ColumnsCoronavirusHealthHow and When Will We Know that a COVID-19 Vaccine is Safe and Effective?

PilotnewsSeptember 23, 2020

With COVID-19 vaccines currently in the final phase of study, you’ve probably been wondering how the FDA will decide if a vaccine is safe and effective. Based on the status of the Phase 3 trials currently underway, it is unlikely that the results of these trials will be available before November. But it is likely that not just one but several of the competing COVID-19 vaccines will be shown to be safe and effective by the end...

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