"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation."
Nigerians have voted in what commentators are describing as Africa’s most important election. There have been problems – even President Goodluck Jonathan failed to vote on his first attempt – but this shouldn’t take away from what has been an impressive process so far. There are grounds for cautious optimism, although the real test comes later, when the results are announced. By Simon Allison. continue reading »
This Saturday, March 28, Nigerians vote again. What is at stake? And what happens after the elections? We brought together a group of scholars to explore some of these issues–an assessment of President Goodluck Jonathan, the nature of opposition party politics, religion, ethnic politics, security, among others–in a new, free ebook, “Nigeria: What is to be done?.” Below we publish the introduction. continue reading »
“Nobody is safe. Not the voter, not the journalist, not anybody!” The fears of Femi Adesina, president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, is echoed by stakeholders and observers of Nigeria’s general election. Amid the tension in the run up to presidential and federal parliamentary elections on March 28, and governor and state parliamentary elections on April 11, journalists can be easy targets.
Whether Buhari takes the Nigerian presidency in next week’s hotly contested elections or Jonathan remains is all but irrelevant; real change will only happen when the masses band together, organize and demand better futures instead of lining up behind the rich and powerful whose futures are already secured.
In one yet-to-be-released poll, the two leading contenders in Nigeria’s February 14 presidential elections – Mohammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan – are “running neck-to-neck.” In another analysis, Zainab Usman and Oliver Owen, both of Oxford University, are projecting that a run-off will happen. Frontier markets consultancy, DaMina Advisors, thinks that Buhari, the opposition candidate, will win by a slim margin.
Well, that didn’t last long. The ceasefire between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government – announced on Thursday, with much fanfare, by government spokesmen – has already been broken. If, that is, it actually existed in the first place. continue reading »
Native of Cape Town, Sean Jacobs lives in Brooklyn, New York and teaches in Manhattan. He obsesses about the relationship between politics and popular culture, but the main rationale for his blog is to comment on what passes for media coverage of the African continent.
Sokari Ekine is a Nigerian social justice activist living in Spain, with a background in technology, gender issues and human rights. She is interested in creating a community of grassroots African bloggers as a way for Africans to exchange ideas, share experiences and tell their own stories in our own words.
Rosebelle Kagumire is an experienced Ugandan Journalist. She won the best Journalist blogger English category at the Panos hosted competition in 2009. Currently she is a student of MA. Media, Conflict and Peace studies at University for Peace (UPEACE), Costa Rica.
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