Vol 59 No 3 | NIGERIA Rumblings in the regions 9th February 2018 Veteran soldier-politicians, agitated by the clashes between farmers and herdsmen and a poor economy, urge Buhari not to run again Do not adjust your almanacs. The succession of statements from retired generals and civil war veterans, most of whom held power in the 1980s, may make it look...
Vol 59 No 3 | NIGERIA Flying blind 9th February 2018 The US sale of ground-attack aircraft is hugely expensive and is of doubtful strategic value in the fight against Boko Haram President Donald Trump's decision to unfreeze export approval for weapons for Nigeria, mainly combat aircraft, is under fire. Not only does the Nigerian air force (NAF) have a...
Vol 59 No 3 | MALISAHEL Strains on the front line 9th February 2018 Opération Pagnali signals a cross-national resolve to fight jihadists, but gaps in command and control may unsettle the G5's future Important organisational and financial matters may remain unresolved, but the G5 Sahel countries' new joint military force is preparing to launch Opération Pagnali regardless. It will be the...
Vol 59 No 3 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Jockeying for position 9th February 2018 With presidential elections two years away, ambitious politicians in the ruling party are manoeuvring to inherit Ouattara's mantle 'You can't be in government and in opposition at the same time. You must choose.' Joël N'Guessan, one of the ruling Rassemblement des républicains (RDR) Vice-Presidents, thus...
Vol 59 No 3 | SIERRA LEONE Drilling down 9th February 2018 Sierra Leone's biggest mining company, Tonkolili Iron Ore, has been accused of complicity in rape, assault and the false imprisonment of a protester in a landmark case being...
Vol 59 No 3 | SIERRA LEONE IMF stops funds over 'election' budget 30th January 2018 The government is spending IMF money on trying to win the election, not on agreed measures for economic recovery. The Fund has suspended payments A confidential despatch by United States diplomats in Freetown has laid bare the cause of strained relations between President Ernest Bai Koroma's government and the International Monetary Fund;...
Vol 59 No 2 | LIBERIA Weah's known unknowns 25th January 2018 The new leader is the first civilian president to win a peaceful transfer of power in seven decades. Other 'firsts' lie ahead George Oppong Manneh Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change won such a resounding victory in Liberia's delayed run-off elections on 26 December that his opponent, Joseph Nyumah...
Vol 59 No 2 | SENEGAL Socialists sack Sall 25th January 2018 The trial of the mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, is tearing Senegal's oldest political party apart. On 30 December the Parti socialiste (PS) expelled 65 members for breaching...
Vol 59 No 1 | NIGERIA All about votes and the naira 12th January 2018 The government will struggle to kick-start the economy and deal with security threats as electioneering begins Politics and everyday life in Nigeria in 2018 will be dominated by concerns about security, corruption and the still sluggish economy. All three core issues will weigh heavily...
Vol 59 No 1 | MALI Wanted: change and security 12th January 2018 President Keïta may well win this year's election but security is poor and popular resentment is growing Two events in Bamako in June 2017 point to what 2018 holds in store. The first was the attack on the Kangaba Resort, just outside the capital, which...