Debating Ideas
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Azawad Never Left: Reading Mali’s 2026 Crisis Through 2012
On 25 April 2026, Mali appeared to enter a new and dramatic phase of crisis. Explosions and gunfire were reported around Bamako and Kati, ... -
They called it historic. Somali women have heard that before.
The first time I heard a Somali female parliamentarian describe her experience of the quota system, she did not use the word “opportunity.” She ... -
In a world of blocs, France and Kenya chose the Middle
Why Nairobi? A lot of ink has already been spilled to explain the choice of Kenya to host the upcoming Africa France summit, the ... -
The Machine Cannot Hold
The old YARID offices, before the move to the current premises, were on a second floor above a hardware stall. By eight in the ... -
Nigeria’s Road to Undemocratic Elections in 2027
Nigeria’s next presidential election is scheduled for 2027. But if current trends continue, the real contest may already be over, further worsening the instability ... -
Bamako under Siege: How Coordinated Attacks Exposed the Mali Government’s Fragility—and Tested the AES
The coordinated attacks that shook Mali on 25–27 April 2026 are not an anomaly. They are the culmination of a long, deteriorating security trajectory—one ... -
The Past and Future(s) of the Postcolonial University
In Femi Kayode’s thriller Lightseekers (2021) the protagonist Philip Taiwo investigates the brutal murder of three students in the fictional university town of Okriki ... -
Ethiopia Does Not Need a Golden Past – It Needs an Honest Future
Public argument in Ethiopia has a habit of reducing history to moral theatre. Individuals are cast as either saviours or destroyers; whole eras are ... -
From Tragedy to Resilience: Women Farmers in Ghana Turn to Agroecology to Confront Climate Change
In Ghana’s transitional ecological belt, where once-dense forests are steadily giving way to savannah, climate change is no longer a distant concern but an ... -
Nigeria’s Fiscal Origins and the Politics of Taxation Today
In his post-amalgamation report to the Colonial Office, Lord Lugard proclaimed triumphantly the “astonishing results” of the administrative merger of the Northern and Southern ...
