Vol 56 No 6 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE 'Gbagbo or nothing' 20th March 2015 The once ruling Front populaire ivoirien has confirmed it prefers the past to future by replacing Pascal Affi N'Guessan as FPI leader with Aboudrahmane Sangaré, an unreconstructed Gbagboiste....
Vol 56 No 6 | SIERRA LEONE Koroma lashes out 20th March 2015 President Ernest Bai Koroma has removed Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana from office even though he does not apparently have the powers to do so. Koroma claimed that Sam-Sumana's action...
Vol 56 No 5 | NIGERIA On the waterfront 6th March 2015 When gunmen opened fire on an opposition rally in the First Lady’s home town, they were sending a clear message Election campaigning for the opposition All Progressives Congress in the Niger Delta, the home base of President Goodluck Jonathan, was always going to be fraught. However, even the...
Vol 56 No 5 | NIGERIA Welcome back, General 6th March 2015 Addressing a packed auditorium at Chatham House in London on 26 February, General Muhammadu Buhari may have mused about his last big encounter with the British establishment. Thirty...
Vol 56 No 5 | GUINEA A dream deferred 6th March 2015 The economic slowdown, low steel demand and law suits block the development of the world’s largest iron ore deposit Potential can be a heavy burden. That is the feeling in Conakry as President Alpha Condé and his advisors watch the prospects of economic development financed by minerals...
Vol 56 No 5 | GHANA The politics of dumsor-dumsor 6th March 2015 Power cuts, job losses and an IMF deal show the limits of government promises of economic change Almost every African country has its power crisis. Lack of electricity from Angola to Zimbabwe holds back economic growth, education and health services. In some states such as...
Vol 56 No 5 | MALI Truce trouble 6th March 2015 Leaders of the Tuareg armed groups fighting for the recognition of northern Mali as an autonomous or independent Azawad face the challenge of keeping supporters on board following...
Vol 56 No 4 | NIGERIA Democracy delayed 19th February 2015 Even a six-week postponement of the elections looks unlikely to slow the momentum of opposition presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari Such is the febrile mood in national politics that President Goodluck Jonathan felt compelled to tell delegations from the European Union and the Economic Community of West African... READ FOR FREE
Vol 56 No 4 | NIGERIA Policing the vote 19th February 2015 There is another way to influence election results, without tampering with the actual vote: to encourage or discourage turnout by using the security organisations. Opposition parties claim that...
Vol 56 No 4 | BURKINA FASO Between street and barracks 19th February 2015 The country prepares for a democratic dawn at the October elections but stubborn soldiers want their privileges guaranteed The mass movement that toppled President Blaise Compaoré last October is at increasing odds with the Régiment de sécurité présidentielle (RSP, AC Vol 55 No 22). The elite...