Oyeleye

CONTRADICTIONS, CRACKDOWNS, COERCION, COVID-19 and CORRUPTIONS are steadily becoming the defining features of China. Some incurable optimists still hold on to the viewpoint that China’s phenomenal rise would defy any law of gravity. How wrong!! And African countries would do better to be vigilant, watch out for the unpredictable and be wary of Chinese subterfuge […]

DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN described as a participatory system of government, involving the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, ‘typically through elected representatives.’ In its raw, theoretical context, it is a system of government in which even the very downtrodden is influential and relevant in governance decisions and actions. But we do […]

GRADUALLY, STEADILY AND IMPERCEPTIBLY, various countries of Africa are entering a new phase. They are losing the various forces of cohesion that made them stand as countries for a while. They are beginning a new trend that has placed them at various levels in the same deplorable experience. While some countries are currently disintegrating, many […]

SOCIAL SAFETY NETS have been much hyped in global development discourse and conversations. In Africa, pockets of interventions by non-state development practitioners and humanitarian assistance actors have been described in the context of social safety nets. A significant proportion of such interventions come in form of direct responses to outcomes of crises precipitated by bad […]

COVID-19, CLIMATE CHANGE, COUP D’ETAT and continental financing gained prominence among the diverse concerns raised while the various leaders of some African countries took their turns to make speeches to the select audience on the floor of the United Nations in New York City since the beginning of the 76th session of the United Nations […]

CONTRADICTIONS CAN BEST DESCRIBE the Africa story today. One the one hand, there is much talk about prevalent poverty, and on one hand there is profuse optimism about potential waiting to be unlocked. While statistics say one thing, the political leaders – even those who acknowledge such statistics – do the opposite. National, regional and […]

ANY REGIONAL POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC bloc is as strong as its weak members. In North America and the European Union, weak members are easily protected and their weakness is not as widespread as it is in Africa where most African Union (AU) member countries are predominantly in abject poverty. The economic size and robustness of […]

THE PROSPECTS OF A PROSPEROUS AFRICA should be the preoccupation of all African leaders now. But that is not likely to happen based on many factors. Let us be clear, things don’t just happen in policy space or diplomatic relationships. Events are products of deliberate actions or inactions. Beginning with trade, Africa still remains the […]

STATES ARE FAILING IN AFRICA. The symptoms have been palpable for too long, and unmistakable manifestations are becoming apparent, but they have been ignored, explained away or sometimes deliberately encouraged by those with political influence or intellectuals. Over half a century after the exit of colonial rule in most of Africa, progress has remained slow, […]

AFGHANISTAN HAS BEEN making news headlines in the past couple of days, beginning with the siege against major towns and provinces and the eventual capture of the country’s capital city, leading to a change of government. This marked the return of the insurgents to power after two decades of ouster and their relentless struggle for […]