Vol 52 No 11 | CÔTE D'IVOIRESENEGAL Peace in Côte d’Ivoire, relief for Dakar 27th May 2011 President Abdoulaye Wade warmly welcomed Ivorian President Alassane Dramane Ouattara’s victory at the polls. The two are politically close, which excluded Wade as a mediator during the subsequent...
Vol 52 No 11 | NIGERIAAFRICA The fastest growing family 27th May 2011 The United Nations’ latest projection of world demographic trends* predicts that Africa’s population will reach 2.2 billion by 2050, 24% of the global population. Nigeria’s population, according to...
Vol 52 No 10 | GHANA All for the sake of the party 13th May 2011 A battle royal for the presidential nomination of the National Democratic Congress will shape the country’s politics for the coming year and beyond Overseas, Ghana’s stock could hardly be higher. Its many admirers point to its record of organising free elections, resolving conflict and sound economic management. So onlookers are baffled...
Vol 52 No 10 | SIERRA LEONE Not so golden jubilee 13th May 2011 Freetown’s independence celebrations said much about the parlous state of the country and looming difficulties for the government When Sierra Leone gained Independence from Britain in 1961, the event was so peaceful that one foreign observer described it as ‘independence without pain’. On 27 April this...
Vol 52 No 10 | CÔTE D'IVOIREANALYSIS Stabilisation now, reconciliation later 13th May 2011 Ouattara is a strong Western ally but his national skills are more of an unknown quantity as he tries to reconcile his own fractious forces as well as Gbagbo’s loyalists. With Gbagbo confined in the north under UN guard and his forces demoralised or captured, the new president has signalled his seriousness by not allowing his staff any time off, despite having spent four months trapped in the Golf Hotel. ADO's woes The difficulties facing President Alassane Dramane Ouattara (‘ADO’) in reconciling former enemies emerged again in the 6 May inauguration ceremony. In his acceptance speech, he praised...
Vol 52 No 10 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Coulibaly: Death of a rebel 13th May 2011 The death of Ibrahim Coulibaly (‘IB’), a former commander with the Forces Nouvelles, points to the difficulties of establishing a new security order in Côte d’Ivoire. IB died...
Vol 52 No 9 | NIGERIA Better elections, dangerous politics 29th April 2011 Fairer voting helps but fundamental reforms are needed to tackle the crisis in the impoverished north The bloody aftermath of Goodluck Jonathan’s victory in the 16 April presidential election will require decisive action from his new government to prevent a dangerous and widening gulf between north...
Vol 52 No 9 | NIGERIA Governors, godfathers and guts 29th April 2011 For ambitious politicians, the exalted office of state governor is worth fighting for, sometimes literally. That made the 26 April gubernatorial elections in 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states a hefty test...
Vol 52 No 9 | BURKINA FASO Beau Blaise loses it 29th April 2011 After his regional mediation, President Compaoré is now threatened by a national crisis of his own making Almost before Blaise Compaoré had a chance to celebrate the installation of his friend Alassane Dramane Ouattara as President of neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, he had to deal with the most serious...
Vol 52 No 8 | NIGERIA A trap for the juggernaut 15th April 2011 The governing party has taken a hit in the National Assembly but Goodluck Jonathan remains favourite to win the presidential vote Parliamentary elections on 9 April showed that Nigerians are no longer willing to be taken for granted by the People’s Democratic Party, which has towered over the political...