Ejike Bob Udeogu, University of East London On February 16, more than 84m eligible voters in Nigeria go to the polls to elect the next president of the country and members of the national assembly. There are nearly 80 candidates competing for the country’s top job but the contest can be viewed to be mainly between the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, aged 76, of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, aged 72, of the People’s Democratic Party. Buhari, a former military head of state from 1983 to 1985, was re-elected as a civilian…
Author: Pride Team
Olayinka Ajala, University of York Nigeria abruptly postponed its presidential election hours before polling was due to begin. The presidential and parliamentary votes have been rescheduled for 23 February while the governorship, state assembly and federal area council elections have been rescheduled to 9 March. The electoral commission cited logistical challenges for the decision. Olayinka Ajala examines the shock announcement and its implications on the final outcome. What is your reaction to the pushing back of Nigeria’s presidential vote? The postponement isn’t a new phenomenon in Nigeria. The 2015 elections were also postponed for six weeks to allow the government…
Winner of the African Responsible Tourism Awards Most Sustainable Event Award in 2017, MTN Bushfire was also hailed in 2016 by CNN as one of the “7 African music festivals you really have to see,” and listed by BBC as a “Top African festival.” More than a festival, MTN Bushfire is a living, breathing ecosystem deeply rooted in African soil, yet inclusive and welcoming to guests from all over the world. MTN Bushfire 2019 will continue to reflect the festival’s distinctly African ethos, with a strong focus on regional music, culture, and arts. To that end, MTN Bushfire is excited…
Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria The world of work is changing all the time – and fast. Jobs have emerged that didn’t exist five or ten years ago. And the idea that you’d stick with one career for your entire working life has been left in the dust. The Conversation Africa’s education editor Natasha Joseph asked Professor Kobus Maree of the University of Pretoria’s Educational Psychology Department to explain how career counselling has changed – and why it’s so important. When you talk about career counselling, I suspect a lot of people think back to their school days when a…
Alessandro Jedlowski, Université Libre de Bruxelles Global streaming service Netflix set its eyes a few years ago on Nigeria’s film industry, better known as Nollywood. Distribution of Nigerian movies on Netflix started around 2015. At the time the American giant bought the rights of blockbusters such as Kunle Afolayan’s October 1st, Biyi Bandele’s Fifty and several others, after they had already been distributed in Nigerian cinemas. During the Toronto International Film Festival 2018, Netflix announced the acquisition of worldwide exclusive distribution rights for Nollywood star Genevieve Nnaji’s debut film as director, the comedy Lionheart. The film marked the first Netflix…
Mark Horton, University of Bristol European museums are under mounting pressure to return the irreplaceable artefacts plundered during colonial times. As an archaeologist who works in Africa, this debate has a very real impact on my research. I benefit from the convenience of access provided by Western museums, while being struck by the ethical quandary of how they were taken there by illegal means, and by guilt that my colleagues throughout Africa may not have the resources to see material from their own country, which is kept thousands of miles away. Now, a report commissioned by the French president, Emmanuel…
We carry a cross inside our heart to relieve our necks from dancing and singing to death, to relieve our heads from drinking too much blood to stupor like vampires, or to forget Noah’s flood where vanity became the only purity for worshipping death and beginning a new road to sunrise. We hide a cross in our heart to believe we’re gods who can drown in too much blood from liquor leading to stupor to gaze at our vampire faces in the mirror running away from sunrise or from staggering here and there to wet our starving muscles with…
Holy Humour Catholic Dog Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside with only a pet dog for company. One day the dog died, and Muldoon went to the parish priest and asked, “Father, me dog is dead. Could ya’ be saying’ a mass for the poor creature?” Father Patrick replied, “I’m afraid not; we cannot have services for an animal in the church. But there are some Baptists down the lane, and there’s no tellin’ what they believe. Maybe they’ll do something for the creature.” Muldoon said, “I’ll go right away, Father. Do ya’ think $5,000 is enough to donate to…
Michael Foley, Baylor University Each year the holidays bring with them an increase in both the consumption of alcohol and concern about drinking’s harmful effects. Alcohol abuse is no laughing matter, but is it sinful to drink and make merry, moderately and responsibly, during a holy season or at any other time? As a historical theologian, I researched the role that pious Christians played in developing and producing alcohol. What I discovered was an astonishing history. Religious orders and wine-making Wine was invented 6,000 years before the birth of Christ, but it was monks who largely preserved viniculture in Europe.…
Reading 1 Is 35:1-10 The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes…