Society
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Visiting Boko Haram territory
An excerpt from Helon Habila’s new book, The Chibok Girls. Three days before my trip to Chibok, I had flown into Maiduguri, the capital ... -
Mali: The stoning that didn’t happen, and why it matters
Most media accounts depict an unequivocal reign of terror under Islamist rule in northern Mali. That’s inaccurate in some important ways. On 17 May, ... -
Ethiopia was colonised
We kept the imperialists at bay, but it wasn’t enough. Like many African countries that were colonised by the British, Ethiopia’s educational system strongly ... -
Legal invisibility was the best thing to happen to me
I became an undocumented migrant at age six and it changed my life. For the millions of undocumented migrants across the globe, life unfolds ... -
Shuffering and shmiling through Lagos’ elitist 50-year celebrations
Where were the poor, Igbos and other minorities in the state’s 50-day birthday party? Lagos state, Nigeria’s economic and commercial capital, turns fifty this year. To ... -
Sanusi II: Nigeria’s inheritor of tradition and unlikely would-be reformer
The traditional ruler’s criticism of conservative thinking in northern Nigeria has kicked off a much-needed storm of controversy. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has often been a ... -
Then they came for Al Jazeera: South Sudan press freedoms further deteriorate
The free media is facing ever greater restrictions just when it is needed the most. This Monday, South Sudan’s government dealt one more blow to ... -
Italy’s deportation drive hits new low with mentally-ill African migrant
The forced expulsion of a Moroccan student who’s been in Italy for nine years and suffers from mental health problems sets a scary precedent. ... -
Are locals starting to push back in the “best place in the world for refugees”?
Uganda is now home to over 800,000 South Sudanese refugees and the world’s largest refugee camp. At a time in which governments across the ... -
Ethiopia’s rubbish policies
Last month’s landslide at a dumpsite killed 125 people. Can the next tragedy be averted? An old, broken down garbage truck stands inside the ...