Vol 46 No 9 | TOGO Merci, Papa 29th April 2005 People take to the streets in Lomé to protest against Faure Gnassingbé's victory in the polls 'If they declare Faure the winner, this place is going to go up in flames', predicted a much quoted opposition supporter in Lomé. And right on cue, the...
Vol 46 No 7 | GHANA Nervy neighbours 1st April 2005 Along its frontiers, Ghana keeps a nervous eye on turbulent Côte d'Ivoire and Togo A strange silence from Accra greeted the sudden death, on 5 February, of Togo's (and Africa's) longest-serving leader, Etienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma. The subsequent events have upset neighbouring Ghana's...
Vol 46 No 7 | NIGERIA Can the centre hold? 1st April 2005 Regional violence and a constitutional conference challenge federal power Calming Nigeria's murderous ethnic tensions and reducing its chronic corruption are the chief declared aims of President Olusegun Obasanjo, half way through his second and last term. There...
Vol 46 No 7 | NIGERIA Credibility on corruption 1st April 2005 The sudden sacking on 22 March of Education Minister Fabian Osuji was well timed to show Nigeria's creditors that President Olusegun Obasanjo's anti-corruption policy is working. Osuji is...
Vol 46 No 7 | NIGERIA Oloibiri, oil capital 1st April 2005 There is no power or running water in Oloibiri, the town that hosted Nigeria's first oil well, and few visible signs of progress after five decades of oil...
Vol 46 No 7 | NIGERIA What Cheney knew 1st April 2005 United States Vice-President Dick Cheney could face questioning by a US Grand Jury about his knowledge - or lack of it - of US$180 million of illegal payments...
Vol 46 No 7 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Twixt South Africa and France 1st April 2005 Top Ivorian politicians will be under pressure to agree terms for the October elections and to implement commitments already made in fresh talks in South Africa on 3...
Vol 46 No 6 | TOGO Olympic heights 18th March 2005 It will be a struggle to introduce democracy after three decades of family rule The Gnassingbé clan will do all it can to win Togo's presidential election, scheduled for 24 April. Some think heir-apparent Faure Gnassingbé, son of the deceased dictator Gnassingbé...
Vol 46 No 6 | GAMBIA Cold murder trail 18th March 2005 Efforts to find out who murdered Deyda Hydara, Editor of The Point newspaper, on 16 December become more bizarre by the day. Gambian police arrested Wally Hakim Mahmoud,...
Vol 46 No 5 | TOGO Faure falters 4th March 2005 Round one to the African Union; the next battle will be presidential elections Faure Gnassingbé's resignation as acting Head of State on 26 February is a provisional victory for both Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the African Union, and Mali's...