Last year I shared a panel with Nigeria’s deputy electoral commissioner, who assured our audience without reservation that everything would be ready on time for the 2015 presidential election. It is apparently…
The postponement of Nigeria’s general elections has enraged many Nigerians and become a source of concern for both the UK and the US – but it doesn’t come as a surprise to domestic observers of the country’s…
News media have been reporting widespread atrocities by Boko Haram against as many as 2000 civilians in Nigeria. But a similar escalation of violence in Darfur, Sudan, over the past two months has been…
Suspected Boko Haram militants have attacked Northern Cameroon in another escalation of their now regional war against Nigeria, Cameron, Chad and Niger. In a cross-border attack, the militants kidnapped…
Ethan Zuckerman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Consider two tragic events that took place last week. A small cell of Islamic terrorists attacked cartoonists at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and shoppers in a Paris supermarket, killing 17 people…
In France 13 people are murdered by Islamic terrorists and it becomes a global news event, with around 50 world leaders visiting the country to take part in the mourning. In Nigeria, up to 2,000 people…
The recent fall of the town of Baga, north-eastern Nigeria, to Boko Haram is one of the militant group’s most serious assaults against the Nigerian state. The consequences are severe: it claims heavy civilian…
Nigeria – and the world – await with bated breath credible confirmation that the government has been able to agree a lasting ceasefire deal with Boko Haram. Reports have emerged that a deal has been signed…
In a celebration of the rights of children, the 2014 Nobel Prize for Peace has been awarded to Malala Yousafzai, shot by the Taliban for going to school in Pakistan, and Kailash Satyarthi, who has been…
Nigeria’s World Cup campaign takes place amidst violent crises at home. The “bring back our girls” campaign following Boko Haram’s kidnapping more than 300 school girls last month has brought the militant…
It has been an interesting month for leaders across Africa. Goodluck Jonathan finally declared a “total war” against Boko Haram despite not having the means to wage one, and after a puzzlingly sluggish…
The US government has told a group of local health educators that it will no longer use immunisation programs as a cover for espionage. But the damage from previous such programs is difficult to undo…
Earlier this month, Nigeria marked a most unwelcome anniversary; a year of special measures in the three northern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. Located in the north east corner of the country, snug…
The mass kidnapping of schoolgirls by terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria is neither a new nor rare occurrence, though this does not make it any less shocking. Boko Haram has been active in Nigeria for…
Professor of Francophone Studies (Africa, Caribbean), Faculty Affiliate with Africana Studies, World Literature Program and Human Rights Pracice, University of Arizona